Irish Village at WEG 2010: Demonstrations: Spotlight on Demo Horse: O'Leary's Irish Diamond

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Spotlight on Demo Horse: O'Leary's Irish Diamond

O’Leary’s Irish Diamond (aka "Irish") is a 16.2 hand 1994 grey Registered Irish Draught stallion, by Glidawn Diamond out of Grey Curragong. Having received the highest scores of the inspection from the Irish Horse Board in 1997 in Ireland, Irish then completed his performance phase in the United States, when for the first time, the Irish Horse Board traveled here.

Irish has excelled in the disciplines of Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing. Some highlights include:

*2000 Champion 3rd level Dressage Assoc. of Southern California

*2002 Open Jumper Champion

*2002 Open Modified Jumper Champion

*2004 Qualified USDF Regional Championships at Prix St. George

*USDF Performance Certificates in 1st, 2nd & 3rd level

Irish has arguably the most impressive bloodlines in the Irish Draught Horse world. His sire Glidawn Diamond is by arguably the best RID stallion of our time, King of Diamonds. During his lifetime, King of Diamonds was ranked by the World Breed Federation as the 7th best producer of show jumpers in the World! Some of King of Diamonds offspring include Mill Pearl, Special Envoy, Pinon Muldoon, Joe II, Dury Ladd and Milstreet Ruby. Glidawn Diamond’s dam, Kildalton Countess is by Ben Purple who was also known as a great producer of Grand Prix jumpers and eventers such as Custom Made, winner of Gold in the 2000 Olympics with David O’Conner.

Irish resides at Kinson Stud (www.kindsonstud.com) in Big Fork, Montana, with owner Melissa Cason-Kinney. Irish has many notable progeny, including fellow WEG demo horse, Braveheart, and doesn't mind at all staying very busy during the breeding season these days! Look for Irish to perform Show Jumping and Hunter demonstrations at WEG!

Most recently, Irish was chosen to be a Breyer Horse portrait model for 2010. The model horse is now available for purchase at http://www.breyerhorses.com/products/product.php?item=1277. Everyone at Kindson Stud is very excited about this amazing honor and hope that it heightens the Irish Draught horse breed around the world. Irish will be on display at Breyerfest 2010 from July 23-25 at home of WEG, the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

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"Draughts" Demystified

"Draught" is pronounced like the modern version of the same word, "Draft." It's an older spelling, with both words meaning" to pull."

In Ireland, breeds like the Clydesdale and Percheron are called "dray" horses. "Draught" is reserved for the smaller, more versatile animals originally used on the Irish farms.

An Irish Draught is a medium sized horse that was originally bred for multiple tasks on Irish farms. They are valued for their wonderful temperament, strong bones, and versatility.

The Irish farmer demanded an all around horse that could multi-task on the farm, plowing in season, pulling both the farm wagon and the carriage, and riding with the hounds.

The Irish Draught Sport Horse is what is traditionally the partbred cross resulting from an Irish Draught mated with a Thoroughbred. In recent times, it has come to include Irish Draughts being crossed with many other breeds, including Hanoverians, Quarter Horses, and Arabians, to name a few.

RID(SH) = Registered Irish Draught (Sport Horse), a horse that has been registered, inspected, and approved by judges from Ireland.

Connemara Standard

Connemaras in North America range from 13 to over 15 hands. Their colors are gray, bay, brown, and dun, with some roans, an occasional black, chestnut, or palomino. Piebalds and skewbalds are not acceptable for registration.

Connemaras are the product of their original environment, the rugged mountain coast of West Ireland. Sure-footed, hardy and agile, they possess powers of great stamina, staying power and adaptability. They are renowned for their versatility and their gentle, tractable, sensible and willing dispositions.

Irish Village at WEG 2010: Demonstrations