Bective Stud reborn

Like many a Meath person, I was saddened over the years to see the beautiful Bective estate by the Boyne in abeyance, with its stone walls beginning to crumble. But now there has been a powerful infusion by new Navan owners, Noel and Valerie Moran.

Stud manager Michael Lynam and a team of workers headed by Sean Reilly, Sean Moran and Gerry Nevin, are bringing fresh life to this wonderful old place.

Bective's history

Bective estate is wrapped in legend and history going back into Celtic, early Christian and Norman times. The iconic Clady River running through its southwest corner has associations back to ancient Tara kings and early Christian monks. The house dates back to 1820 and to the horse-rich Bolton family.

Down through the years it’s been home to some great horsemen, including the legendary John Watson of the Meaths and George Briscoe of the Tara Harriers. The estate’s 180 acres stretch for over a mile along the river Boyne.

Through a combination of genius, vision and belief, Noel Moran and his wife Valerie have, over the past 10 years, created a worldwide, IT-driven, money transaction company called Prepaid Financial Services. The business has been termed “one of the fastest growing technological businesses in Europe.”

No wonder Noel was last year named European Entrepreneur of the Year. Dividends from all of that now support many projects, which happily includes Bective.

Experience and feel

Stud manager Michael Lynam attributes what he calls “my horse bug” to growing up beside Fairyhouse racecourse. He worked for Suzanne Macken for a time before emigrating to England, where he completed his degree in stud management at Oxfordshire. Work then brought him to Italy, France, Germany, Newmarket and back home to places like Coolmore.

He and his wife Sarah, who works at Tattersalls, have for the past 10 years lived just across the Boyne from Bective, at Assigh. By coincidence the house they live in adjoins the old Dublin to Navan railway bridge across the Boyne, that former resident of Bective George Briscoe is said to have bought for £1, thus saving it from destruction.

“I walked these lands for years and now all that happened before seems to have come together in a job I love doing,” Michael says. He certainly demonstrates a real feel for both the place and its horses.

Progress to date

During my visit to Bective last week with Michael, I was utterly amazed at the progress in restoration that has been made since Noel and Valerie took ownership in 2016.

What were stubble fields are now 10 newly grassed and stud-railed paddocks. A total of 24 old, stone stables have been superbly re-pointed and updated. There are two horse walkers plus a 40m by 30m arena.

Both the arena and four innovative turnout paddocks have fibre and Wexford sand. Then there is the eye-catching, three-and-a-quarter furlong gallops from Tom Furlong that border the mile-long driveway. The old two-mile stone around the perimeter is being stripped of the invading ivy and repaired.

“Breeding and owning their own race horses is the mission statement of the new Bective Stud. They have bought four broodmares with very strong connections.

The very first foal to be born there will be by four-time Gold Cup winner, Yeats. The other three are in foal to Havanna Gold, Churchill and the late Gold Cup hero, Champs Elysees.

The Morans intend on breeding a mixture of flat and National Hunt horses, with strong emphasis on National Hunt. At the moment, four of theirs are in training with Gordon Elliot and a further two are at Stratford-on-Avon with Ollie Murphy.

All of this is just the beginning of what promises to become even more than a stud as time goes on. But for now, one can only rejoice in what is being done to have Bective reborn.