Many breeders avidly follow the progress of a ‘good one’ they bred. For the Walshe family in Hacketstown, Co Carlow the success story of Mark Q has run longer than most, from Dublin and Lanaken to his multiple wins in America.
His longtime US-based rider Kevin Babington remarked last autumn how the horse was one of his favourites, saying: “He’s 16, going on six and has turned into a really sweet horse. Now he’s like a puppy dog for most of his work, you could ride him bareback but in the victory gallop, he’s still like a lunatic.”
An eventful lap of honour was recorded in February when the pair won the $72,000 Equanimity Challenge Cup at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington.
For Pam Walshe, the start of her “lifelong passion for sport horse breeding” began with a project during her Agricultural Science studies at University College Dublin.
“It was the same time that ‘foreign’ stallions were being introduced into the country and there was plenty of debates as to their merit,” says Pam.
“ I completed a study of the top European studbooks, how they select stallions and develop their sport horse industry.
“The study also looked at the future of the sport horse industry in Ireland and discussing the foreign verus traditional horse debate.
“It was a great opportunity to speak to breeders and stallion owners.”
Farming life
Pam, like many Irish breeders, grew up on a farm stocked with a suckler cow herd, beef cattle and sheep.
“Our family has always been involved in horses, mam did some show jumping and is a former Master of the Shillelagh and District Hunt. Dad rode Abbey Emerald, dam to Mark Q, when she was younger and was trying to buck me off.
“There is a photo of him bringing her hunting. He was a brilliant rider and the best judge of a horse that I know.
“He could buy foals that just looked like ordinary bay foals and would turn into the nicest horses. He could see something that many others missed, I have learned so much from him.
“It has worked out well because only for them, Mark Q would not exist, I only chose the stallion.”
Abbey Emerald, was by the thoroughbred Positively and out of Molly Bawn.
“Most of Molly Bawn’s progeny were sold as foals or three-year-olds. But Abbey was small and I needed a horse, so I was lucky enough to acquire her.
“She was my horse of a lifetime, she knew as soon as the bell went in a show jumping round to start cantering and I see so much of her in Mark Q.”
Pam chose O.B.O.S Quality 004 to cover her after she spotted him jumping at Thomastown. “I thought he would complement her, he spent a lot of time in the air while she was sharp and quick. He was big, scopey and moved particularly well while she was small.
“He also seemed to have a good temperament, which was important as she could be hot.”
The Walshes have kept Mark Q’s full-siblings, Jump The Q and Ballinaguilkey Heidi, as broodmares. As a three-year-old Mark Q was sent to “the legendary point-to-point trainer and sales consigner, Colin Bowe, to be broken.
“Colin was breaking sport horses at the time but I think he has found a more lucrative outlet with the thoroughbreds these days. I remember when he called to say that he had popped Mark Q over a fence and he was still landing.”
Not always easy
Having won his Millstreet Young Ireland qualifier, Mark Q finished sixth in the final.
“Proof that loose jumping competitions do horses no harm at all when they are done properly.”
A mishap followed that autumn with the just-broken youngster, “All was going well until we were schooling one evening and Mark Q bolted after jumping through his first double. He headed for the gate to jump out and someone waved a jacket to stop him.
“He veered left at the last minute and bounced off the post and rails, breaking my leg. That was the last time I sat on him.
“I sent him to Steven Smith in Barnadown who did a great job with him, although I do remember him bolting back to the stables at his first show.”
“I sold him to Deirdre Bourns the following summer. When Richard and Deirdre came to Barnadown to view him Steve was away and Maurice Cousins rode him. He was wonderful to watch, a very talented horseman.”
He was campaigned by Olive Clarke and Andrew Bourns before joining Babington’s string in America.
Stallion selection
“Interestingly I covered Abbey Emerald with a traditional-bred horse and I’m afraid he was no good. Jump The Q, her daughter, has shown that she can breed good horses if I pick the right stallion.
“My sister, Tracy jumped her to 1.30m and her first foal Cooley Jump The Q, by Pacino, won the Cavan four-year-old championship by 25 marks.
“He was sensational that day and I have very high hopes for him in the future, he’s with Ciaran Howley now in Germany.
“Her second foal, Darco Q, by Amaretto Darco. He was sixth in the RDS four-year-old championship last year with Catherine Thornton, who has done the most amazing job with him.
“Each horse’s future is a priority for me and choosing their next owner is paramount to ensure they reach their potential. I have a three-year-old filly and two-year-old gelding, both by Cornet Obolensky.
“She’ll be covered by Casall this year. I’ve been lucky with some horses I’ve bred but have had lots of mistakes too,” said Pam, who works as a senior business advisor for Bank of Ireland.
“We currently have 28 horses, usually about ten in work and then youngsters and brood mares.
“My sisters all work full-time so we start in the yard at 6am and then go to work and finish at about 9pm in the evening.
“Tracy works for Red Mills, Sharon for the Department of Agriculture, Lisa is a dentist, Nicola is a nurse and Laura works for Glanbia, an interesting mix.
“It’s probably one of the few yards that has horses tacked up and in work by 6:15am!
“Long days but it’s a great team effort.”
DID YOU KNOW
?Mark Q is the first horse bred by Pam: “I was still in college so dad and mam registered him for me.”
?Derry Rothwell was visiting the Walshes when Abbey Emerald started foaling. Eager to get home to see the mare’s first foal (Mark Q), Pam spun her parents Toyota Avensis on a bend. “I jumped out, checked for dents, took some greenery off the hitch and proceeded to continue my journey, albeit at a more sedate pace. I have never told that story to anyone before.”
?Her parents were offered £1,250 for Abbey Emerald as an unbroken three-year-old. As they were asking £1,500, she stayed. “If that sale had gone through, we would not be writing this article.”?Mark Q’s stable name was Ben, named after a particular Leinster rugby player Pam and her friends spotted at a match. His official name was intended to be Q Mark (the quality standard trade name) but when this wasn’t allowed, Pam flipped it to Mark Q.
?Mark Q’s grand-dam was a black cob mare bought from a traveller family by Pam’s great-uncle Frank. The family retained two of her broodmare daughters: Friendly Lady and Molly Bawn, both by the thoroughbred sire Saradice that stood with Billy Barker near Tinahely. He also stood Positively, the dam of Molly Bawn’s filly foal: Abbey Emerald.
Many breeders avidly follow the progress of a ‘good one’ they bred. For the Walshe family in Hacketstown, Co Carlow the success story of Mark Q has run longer than most, from Dublin and Lanaken to his multiple wins in America.
His longtime US-based rider Kevin Babington remarked last autumn how the horse was one of his favourites, saying: “He’s 16, going on six and has turned into a really sweet horse. Now he’s like a puppy dog for most of his work, you could ride him bareback but in the victory gallop, he’s still like a lunatic.”
An eventful lap of honour was recorded in February when the pair won the $72,000 Equanimity Challenge Cup at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington.
For Pam Walshe, the start of her “lifelong passion for sport horse breeding” began with a project during her Agricultural Science studies at University College Dublin.
“It was the same time that ‘foreign’ stallions were being introduced into the country and there was plenty of debates as to their merit,” says Pam.
“ I completed a study of the top European studbooks, how they select stallions and develop their sport horse industry.
“The study also looked at the future of the sport horse industry in Ireland and discussing the foreign verus traditional horse debate.
“It was a great opportunity to speak to breeders and stallion owners.”
Farming life
Pam, like many Irish breeders, grew up on a farm stocked with a suckler cow herd, beef cattle and sheep.
“Our family has always been involved in horses, mam did some show jumping and is a former Master of the Shillelagh and District Hunt. Dad rode Abbey Emerald, dam to Mark Q, when she was younger and was trying to buck me off.
“There is a photo of him bringing her hunting. He was a brilliant rider and the best judge of a horse that I know.
“He could buy foals that just looked like ordinary bay foals and would turn into the nicest horses. He could see something that many others missed, I have learned so much from him.
“It has worked out well because only for them, Mark Q would not exist, I only chose the stallion.”
Abbey Emerald, was by the thoroughbred Positively and out of Molly Bawn.
“Most of Molly Bawn’s progeny were sold as foals or three-year-olds. But Abbey was small and I needed a horse, so I was lucky enough to acquire her.
“She was my horse of a lifetime, she knew as soon as the bell went in a show jumping round to start cantering and I see so much of her in Mark Q.”
Pam chose O.B.O.S Quality 004 to cover her after she spotted him jumping at Thomastown. “I thought he would complement her, he spent a lot of time in the air while she was sharp and quick. He was big, scopey and moved particularly well while she was small.
“He also seemed to have a good temperament, which was important as she could be hot.”
The Walshes have kept Mark Q’s full-siblings, Jump The Q and Ballinaguilkey Heidi, as broodmares. As a three-year-old Mark Q was sent to “the legendary point-to-point trainer and sales consigner, Colin Bowe, to be broken.
“Colin was breaking sport horses at the time but I think he has found a more lucrative outlet with the thoroughbreds these days. I remember when he called to say that he had popped Mark Q over a fence and he was still landing.”
Not always easy
Having won his Millstreet Young Ireland qualifier, Mark Q finished sixth in the final.
“Proof that loose jumping competitions do horses no harm at all when they are done properly.”
A mishap followed that autumn with the just-broken youngster, “All was going well until we were schooling one evening and Mark Q bolted after jumping through his first double. He headed for the gate to jump out and someone waved a jacket to stop him.
“He veered left at the last minute and bounced off the post and rails, breaking my leg. That was the last time I sat on him.
“I sent him to Steven Smith in Barnadown who did a great job with him, although I do remember him bolting back to the stables at his first show.”
“I sold him to Deirdre Bourns the following summer. When Richard and Deirdre came to Barnadown to view him Steve was away and Maurice Cousins rode him. He was wonderful to watch, a very talented horseman.”
He was campaigned by Olive Clarke and Andrew Bourns before joining Babington’s string in America.
Stallion selection
“Interestingly I covered Abbey Emerald with a traditional-bred horse and I’m afraid he was no good. Jump The Q, her daughter, has shown that she can breed good horses if I pick the right stallion.
“My sister, Tracy jumped her to 1.30m and her first foal Cooley Jump The Q, by Pacino, won the Cavan four-year-old championship by 25 marks.
“He was sensational that day and I have very high hopes for him in the future, he’s with Ciaran Howley now in Germany.
“Her second foal, Darco Q, by Amaretto Darco. He was sixth in the RDS four-year-old championship last year with Catherine Thornton, who has done the most amazing job with him.
“Each horse’s future is a priority for me and choosing their next owner is paramount to ensure they reach their potential. I have a three-year-old filly and two-year-old gelding, both by Cornet Obolensky.
“She’ll be covered by Casall this year. I’ve been lucky with some horses I’ve bred but have had lots of mistakes too,” said Pam, who works as a senior business advisor for Bank of Ireland.
“We currently have 28 horses, usually about ten in work and then youngsters and brood mares.
“My sisters all work full-time so we start in the yard at 6am and then go to work and finish at about 9pm in the evening.
“Tracy works for Red Mills, Sharon for the Department of Agriculture, Lisa is a dentist, Nicola is a nurse and Laura works for Glanbia, an interesting mix.
“It’s probably one of the few yards that has horses tacked up and in work by 6:15am!
“Long days but it’s a great team effort.”
DID YOU KNOW
?Mark Q is the first horse bred by Pam: “I was still in college so dad and mam registered him for me.”
?Derry Rothwell was visiting the Walshes when Abbey Emerald started foaling. Eager to get home to see the mare’s first foal (Mark Q), Pam spun her parents Toyota Avensis on a bend. “I jumped out, checked for dents, took some greenery off the hitch and proceeded to continue my journey, albeit at a more sedate pace. I have never told that story to anyone before.”
?Her parents were offered £1,250 for Abbey Emerald as an unbroken three-year-old. As they were asking £1,500, she stayed. “If that sale had gone through, we would not be writing this article.”?Mark Q’s stable name was Ben, named after a particular Leinster rugby player Pam and her friends spotted at a match. His official name was intended to be Q Mark (the quality standard trade name) but when this wasn’t allowed, Pam flipped it to Mark Q.
?Mark Q’s grand-dam was a black cob mare bought from a traveller family by Pam’s great-uncle Frank. The family retained two of her broodmare daughters: Friendly Lady and Molly Bawn, both by the thoroughbred sire Saradice that stood with Billy Barker near Tinahely. He also stood Positively, the dam of Molly Bawn’s filly foal: Abbey Emerald. 
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