Ruth Loney has been involved in almost every aspect of the equestrian industry in Ireland and believes we are heading into a very exciting time for the sport in Ireland. “I first got to know Eddie Macken when he and his horse Skyview were competing on the World Cup circuit in the early nineties. At the 1994 World Cup final in Den Bosch, where Jos Lansink won on Libero, Macken was keeping the flag flying.
Ruth Loney has been involved in almost every aspect of the equestrian industry in Ireland and believes we are heading into a very exciting time for the sport in Ireland.
“I first got to know Eddie Macken when he and his horse Skyview were competing on the World Cup circuit in the early nineties. At the 1994 World Cup final in Den Bosch, where Jos Lansink won on Libero, Macken was keeping the flag flying.
“It was great to see him back in Dublin again as a coach and with his Mexican riders taking the Aga Khan trophy.
“Eddie bought a horse named Windward from Alice Wilson in Portadown. I rode Carrolls Windward at his first show at Scarvagh House. He was spotted by Suzanne Macken in the Simmonscourt warm-up with Alice and competed with Eddie before going to a new owner in Florida.
“I remember the time Eddie arrived in our yard to try a horse. I had all my friends in the kitchen peering out and I was boasting 'There's Eddie trying a horse of mine.' And my friend looked out and stated: 'Aye, pull the other one.'
“Tough riders like Eddie and John Whitaker are first-class coaches. They have done it all and have cool heads.
“I interviewed Anneli Drummond-Hay once. It was Bologna World Cup Show and she was 64 years of age, competing her horse Quattro in the big class. I knew of her as a world-class eventer on Merely-A-Monarch.
“She said: ‘Believe in yourself, keep fit and get going. Get a horse. Just do it. Anybody can ride in a World Cup at my age.’ She really amazed me.
Dream rider
“My all-time dream rider was Caroline Bradley with Tigre. I’d stand at the RDS warm-up arena and watch every move she made.
She had patent top riding boots and I went off and had patent tops made for my Hawkins boots.
“I won the Balmoral supreme hunter title on a Chou Chin Chow four-year-old and thought I was so cool with these boots.
"So cool, in fact, that I wore them in an RDS lightweight cob class. Robert Oliver remarked on my boots and I joked he was there to judge the cob, not the boots.
“I won the Balmoral side-saddle championship on Lord Anthony for Hugh Dunlop. I was a useless side-saddle rider and I told this to Hugh, I didn't even get to practice on the horse.
“Hugh told me ‘Wait till the canter and gallop, this horse is like an armchair. Sit tight, press on and you will win.’
"Ronnie Bailey was judging and I was dizzy with nerves, but when the horse started to canter he was unbeatable."
Fond memories
“I loved the Horse of the Year Show Wembley and never missed it in the early days there.
"The Derry boys, Paddy Kelly and Alwyn Coyle, father of Trevor, always enjoyed their pre-show drinks in the Foxhunter Bar and were on the BBC each evening as David Vine introduced the live show jumping.
“I was so excited to be there when the Houston Brothers from Banbridge, Peter and Phillip, won the overall young horse championship.
"It was the Triple Crown for them after Balmoral and Dublin. I had tears in my eyes for Kennedy Houston who owned the horse, Sheer Delight. Now Charlotte Houston is carrying the flag for the family in international ponies.
“I remember her mother Joanne Prentice in ponies, and my favourite pony at the RDS was Caramel Cream, who won titles for Mandy Lyons, Diane and her sister Vina.
“Wembley was great craic in the evenings. Hugh McCusker was sponsored by Chubb and had some hilarious parties. After one party, Loftus O’Neill, Barbara and Mrs Hatton from Slyguff Stud were all staying in the lorry.
"I arrived in and was about to climb onto a camp bed until Loftus shouted out from the darkness. I ended up in the bunk beside a famous singing Irish commentator from Tara.
"The riders high jinks were infamous. Donald Whitaker, John and Michael's father, was fast asleep on his chair. The boys put him into a wheelchair and set him into the lift. Up and down he went until some kind stranger took him to his room.
“I love Bannow and Rathangan show, particularly for the All Ireland final. It takes a real star to win this cream of the three-year-olds.
Showing and breeding
“I have won the Bantry All Ireland three-year-old final with a Limmerick filly, taken third with a Lux filly and seventh with a daughter of my own stallion Bellevue Swahili, by Highland King.
"He is a full-brother of William Fox Pitt’s Ballincoola and I love his offspring.
“I love to chat to riders about their mares and stallions. Nowadays most international riders have home breeding programmes and compete homebreds.
“Ludger Beerbaum breeds many of his own horses and competes offspring of his stallions, such as Goldfever and Catoki. Marcus Ehning keeps broodmares and Jan Tops has good mares and embryo youngsters taken from his super international mare Pialotta at his stud farm in Normandy.
“There are approved colts by Michael Quirke's Ars Vivendi in Normandy too. John Whitaker has stallions Cheers Cassini and Argento, to name but a few."
Show jumping success
“In 2017 my Cassini II colt foal was reserve show jumping colt foal at the Meadows, judged by Alain Storme. I have two Cassini II colts, one Bellevue Swahili colt, a selection of Swahili youngstock and a nice Luidam four-year-old out of a Diamond Lad mare. The Diamond Lad mare was bred by Theresa Walsh and is from her great jumping line.
“Last year Bellevue Tomboy, by Laughtons Flight out of a Hail Station mare, won the British Show Pony Society intermediate worker championship and overall Desert Orchid title. Killala Kate, Tomboy’s grand-dam, came from Lady Rathcavan’s dispersal.
“Bellevue Chinchilla, by Master Imp, went on to win seven times with British event rider Piggy French, before going to an Italian junior rider.
"One day Chinchilla and Swahili, who were both colts living in the same field, escaped and headed off towards the Armagh Road. Luckily, a farmer left a gate open and they headed into his potato field. I caught them and walked them a mile home.
“When it comes to loose jumping three-year-olds, how else can you tell if a horse cannot jump? Who wants to buy a youngster that they can't see loose over a fence? In Belgium and France they jump youngsters, using two fences.
"Millstreet use two fences and a short run from the corner. It’s definitely not simple to win the Millstreet Young Irelander. Many horses have excelled from this competition, as have youngsters from Dublin three-year-old classes.
“I’ve won the overall championship at Ballinasloe Fair with a Lux mare who won the 1.40 Small Tour class in Fontainebleau with Kayleigh Watts and the gelding final with a VDL Arkansas, which went to John McGuinness from Leitrim."
Eventing
“My pet hate for FEI events is the overuse of skinny fences in cross-country. I evented in the 1970s and won the FEI Intercontinental two-day event at Scarvagh horse trials, hosted by Bill Buller and televised on BBC. I was 15 and thought it was great to parade behind Norman Van der Vater and John Watson.
“It was the old long format back then, so after the steeplechase, roads and tracks and a foot-perfect cross-country, I won.
"It was a highlight as I’d studied Lucinda Green's eventing book from cover to cover and her advice rang in my ears.
“The only person who remembers me winning Scarvagh is Dermott Lennon, who was standing at the water fence.
“Equestrian sports grassroots prepares everyone for careers at top level. I believe we can host an FEI world championship in Ireland, I think we can host world-class endurance and maybe a European showjumping championship sometime. Cork is definitely taking over as the eventing capital of Ireland and Millstreet eventing is awesome.
“So many talented riders in Ireland, there has never been a more exciting time to breed horses. And the craic is great.”
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