My Horse World: Vinny Duffy, Ballina, Co Mayo

I am: The owner of Duffy Sport Horses, a business that produces and sells Irish-bred horses, mainly for show jumping and eventing disciplines. We find, produce and train horses and their riders.

My involvement with horses began as soon as I could walk. About 30 years ago I got into it seriously. I had a great business relationship with the late Avril Hitchmough, aunt of international rider Billy Twomey.

I live: In Ballina, Co Mayo and am married to Sandra. All of our children have come through the ranks of pony competition and currently my son Alex is based in Germany with Irish senior international rider Cameron Hanley.

My best achievements:

Thankfully I have been very lucky, but the best achievement has to be our horse World Cruise competing for Ireland in the Aga Khan trophy in Dublin. He was the first Irish-bred-and-owned horse to have a double-clear there in 10 years.

My best horse/pony: World Cruise. I bought him as a three-year-old and to produce him to compete on the world stage at the highest level was a privilege. He jumped at the World Games in Aachen in 2006, in Calgary and at all the big venues in the world.

Recent achievements: Last month my son Martin and Jean Gill of Duffy Sport Horses travelled to Monroe, Washington, to give a clinic to 17 American students brought by their trainers Megan Pomeroy, Jenny Holbrook and Carol Hinkley.

In Washington, our team conducted classes for both show jumpers and eventers. Among the participants there was Hayley McCracken, granddaughter of retired supreme court judge Brian McCracken. Hayley started riding at age four with her aunt Sandra McCracken, and she has told me she plans to train with us in Ireland in 2014. She hopes to qualify for the Dublin Horse Show.

My opinion: I think we are doing a reasonable job here in Ireland at the moment. There are some nice horses coming through. The standard is good in the young horse classes – as high as anywhere in the world. Also, the facilities we have in Millstreet provide an excellent chance for producing horses. It is every bit as good as going away on the Sunshine Tour. I can’t praise the Duggan family enough for their contribution to the sport.