“There are more Thoroughbred crosses than ever before.
We should pay attention to Germany. They are breeding excellent event horses now and have become number one in the sport.” – Peter
when it comes to the breeding of event horses. I prefer three-quarters to seven-eighths Thorough- bred. As miles are galloped and the gymnastics are asked, we still need a similar horse. There is less Thoroughbred in one- and two-star horses now, but that only works to that level. You need to be careful for the three- and four-star levels—for these hors- es the two-star level has to be easy and they must have excellent conformation and enough blood. Peter: The bloodlines of event horses still need a signifi-
Peter Barry and his longtime partner Kilroden Abbott at the 2014 Rolex Ken- tucky Three-Day Event CCI4*.
cant amount of Thoroughbred. The Warmblood aspect has grown more, especially for the dressage and show jumping phases. There are more Thoroughbred crosses than ever be- fore. We should pay attention to Germany. They are breeding excellent event horses now and have become number one in the sport. My young horses are Holsteiner and Hanoveri- ans, but still with a lot of blood. My Advanced horse is an Irish Sport Horse.
WT: Have you ever bred and evented your own event horses? If so, which ones? Robin: Yes, Rowdy Friend (by Pallas Digion out of Dau Dau
de Dau) was a horse I bred and competed to two-star. Today he is in Ireland doing the 1.40 meters [show jumping] inter- nationally. Another is Someday Never Comes, a Selle Fran- çais/TB mare (by Frenchman out of Dau Dau de Dau). I took her to Intermediate and now she is with Sam Kelley, who just won with her at Rocking Horse Winter I in his Preliminary divi- sion. Someday’s full brother, Uncle Ralph, is just starting Pre- lim. Talk’s Cheap, a Selle Français/ISH (by Ilian de Taute out of Loughnatousa April), is showing at the one-star level with El- liott Blackmon. Peter: Yes, I’ve done some breeding, and I bred an
eight-year-old mare named Freespirit (Freedom Z/Furioso II out of Rising Spirit by Primitive Rising XX) who is at the two-star level with Colleen Loach. From her we’ve done embryo transfer and produced two exceptional athletes.
One is four now, and the other is a five-year-old we sold to Boyd Martin.
WT: If you could custom-design your own perfect event horse, describe for us what that would be? (breed, bloodlines, sex, size, color, etc.) Robin: My ideal event horse would be 16.1 to 16.2, tradi-
tionally Irish-bred with at least three-quarters Thoroughbred blood. Mare or gelding—the jury is out on that one. I’ve rid- den some great mares and geldings. My favorite color is bay with black points. But the most important attribute is that he or she has a trainable temperament. For me the brain is huge—is the horse brave enough, tough enough, stable men- tally, balanced, with great conformation? My ideal horse also must have a ‘fifth gear’ and gallop naturally without the need for me to create it. Peter: For me, the breed doesn’t really matter. What mat-
ters is the rideability and trainability. Does he jump well, is he a nice mover, and does he have good endurance?
WT: Looking ahead, how long do you see yourself riding and competing event horses? Robin: Barring any accidents, as long as I can climb in the saddle and have good horses. The quality of the horses under- neath me is key. I love bringing along young horses and will continue to compete until my close friends tell me otherwise! Peter: As long as God allows me to.
Warmbloods Today 93
Kim Macmillan/Macmillan Photography
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