In an question and answer session with Shona Moss, Hampshire based Dressage Rider Owen Davies tells us all about his 13 year old Irish Draught gelding by Shenandoah Prince Holly, who is now working at Prix St George.
DRESSAGE NEWS
Churchtown Hollyboy, a fabulous example of the Irish Draught Dressage Horse
Hampshire based Dressage Rider and Freelance Instructor, Owen Davies, is currently enjoying great success with his ¾ bred Irish Draught Gelding, Churchtown Hollyboy, fondly known as ‘Buddy’. Amongst many other wins, Owen and Buddy recently topped the Advanced Medium Freestyle to Music at Sparshot College with a very impressive score of 75%.
In an interview with Shona Moss, Owen tells us about his beautiful gelding and he shares some of his experiences in producing Buddy. He also tells us why he chose an Irish Draught and what he loves about the breed.
“We need to show the World what the Irish Draught can do … I was drawn to the Irish Draught because of their temperament. They are very easy going and willing to please … I wanted a horse that was capable enough to turn its hoof to any job and to allow me to have fun along the way … they are so lovely and they are so honest … and they are very capable at Dressage”
Owen Davies
Churchtown Hollyboy is a 13 yr old ¾ Irish Draught gelding by Shenandoah Prince Holly (Holycross). His dam was Churchtown Pride by Townrath Pride (Pride of Shaunlara), with his granddam being an Irish Sports Horse mare called Dusty Pride. He stands at 17.2hh and was bred by Shane Delaney in Ireland.
Congratulations on your recent win at Sparshot College with your beautiful gelding, Churchtown Hollyboy. Can you tell me a little about him?
“Thank you, I have had him since he was 5 years old. I was only 16 when I bought him and I chose him because I thought he would be the sort of horse that I could try things out on. At the time I hadn’t decided what sort of career path I was going to go down, I wanted to ride Professionally but was yet to decide whether it would be in eventing or dressage. Buddy helped me to make my decision; in the early days we did some low-level eventing and played with some dressage. I decided that I would stick to dressage because I enjoyed it more but Buddy loved the eventing just as much. I have trained him ever since. When I started the dressage, I thought we would probably get to Medium, but Buddy has just kept surprising me and now we are at Prix St George”.
I bet he gives you a lovely feeling, Draughts are such powerful horses.
“Oh yes. He is very powerful. And the thing I love the most about him is when people look at him on the ground and they think, what a big heavy horse. But then they see him ridden, the comments I get all the time are, wow, he’s so light on his feet. He has got so much swing through his body and lot of cadence, he is just lovely. He is very easy to deal with on a day-to-day basis and he is also very sweet. He tries his heart out for me. I have found that this is something so characteristic of the Irish Draught, they just really try their best for you. They are so lovely, and they are so honest”.
What prompted you to buy a part bred Irish Draught?
“I was drawn to the Irish Draught because of their temperament. They are very easy going and willing to please. I wanted a horse that was capable enough to turn its hoof to any job and to allow me to have fun along the way”.
Tell me about his early training days, as a young horse.
“When I first had Buddy I was only 16. I didn’t really know where to start so I relied on advice from trainers, and we spent a lot of time just having fun. We went for lots of hacks, fun rides and cross country clinics and I just got him out and about seeing the world. When we decided to focus on dressage, the biggest thing I realised was that I needed to take my time with him. I know it takes longer but you will reap the rewards later on because they are such a big horse. They take time to get strong. I am so glad that when I bought him as a young horse, I put no pressure on him. He was 7 or 8 years old when I started to focus on dressage, so he had a good 2 to 3 years of just enjoying life before he was really put to work”.
It is lovely that you took the time to allow him to mature in his body and in his mind also.
“Yes, I have taken my time. They are big horses; they have big joints and big bodies and a lot of strength. They have a great deal of power in their bodies but they need the time to build the muscle in order for them to be able to control that power”.
What made you realise that he had a flair for dressage?
“I think it was his trot that got me. He had so much swing in his trot and he was effortlessly light on his feet. I could feel it and thought, this feels good! Judges always comment on how light and lovely he is, and I soon realised that this is going to be the horse that I am going to learn to do everything on because he is just so amazing and so honest. I can ask anything of Buddy and he is like, yes I will give it a try!”
You have now reached a very impressive standard, competing at Advanced Medium, and you are working at Prix St George. What is your weekly training routine?
“Buddy normally goes in the school for the first two days of the week. The first day is a stretching or poles day to get him nicely warmed up and supple. And then I will pick him up the next day and work him a little bit harder, doing some travers, strengthening and lateral work. After any hard training session day he hacks, I am lucky enough to be next to the New Forest so we have great hacking. And then he will do the same sort of thing on the last two days of the week. We start with stretching and suppling work again on the Thursday and I might have a lesson or another harder training day on the Friday. He then hacks on the following day and then he has a day off. He loves hacking, it’s his ‘me time’. It keeps their brains fresh and stops them getting bored”
I’m guessing, being a dressage rider, that you are used to riding Warmbloods. How does Buddy differ from riding a WB?
“I think he differs to warmbloods because of his brain, for me, it is his most precious quality. If I could take his brain and put it in any other horse, I would do this as he has just got the best mentality. The fact that I can fully clip him and then take him for a hack, and I don’t have to fear for my life, is just great. He is very trainable, and he is willing and capable of learning new things. His movement is also bigger, he is quite a chunky horse. It is possibly a little more difficult to stretch your legs down long as he is wider than most warmbloods, but he is fit, not fat so it is perfectly doable”.
Have you had to adapt any of your training to better suit an Irish Draught?
“I have done the same sort of training as what I would do with a warmblood, but I have taken my time. It is so easy to rush things with a horse that is this willing because it is always there for the taking, he just gives it to you. But you need to wait until they are strong enough for the stage that they are at, I had to keep going with his strengthening exercises. I am glad that I took my time as it has helped him to become the horse that he is today”.
What would you say to others who are considering buying an ID or an IDSH if they are looking for a dressage horse?
“I would say go for it. You will hopefully have a horse that you will enjoy taking out and you will enjoy building a relationship with it too. You will have so much less stress and a lot of fun along the way, and they are very capable at Dressage”.
What is his diet and daily routine?
“He is on a very simple diet. He is in at night in the winter and in during the day in the summer because of the flies. He is on ad lib hay or haylage when he is in, otherwise he is out at grass and he gets plenty of turnout. Buddy has a scoop of Alfa A Oil and a scoop of conditioning nuts, twice a day. When he is competing or working hard I add in some electrolytes and some oil for extra energy. And that’s all he has, he really doesn’t need any more and he looks and feels great”.
What are your plans for the future?
“I took him to the last National Championships. We came in the top ten with the Advanced Medium Freestyle to Music with 69%. When he was younger, we came second in the Novice Associated Championship. I would love to get him to the Nationals at PSG and I would love to do an International on him at some point. We will keep training at home and hopefully someday we will get out and do a Grand Prix, that would be really special”.
That is fantastic, I am sure he will soon be competing at those levels; it is so lovely to see Irish Draughts being ridden and trained to this standard. Do you think he will shine even more at the higher levels, being the type of horse that he is? Very often the flashier paced horses tend to take the judges eye at the lower levels, but the Irish Draught can certainly stand its ground at the higher levels where accuracy and power are so important.
“I have found that he is really in his element at Advanced Medium and PSG. This is where the hotter horses start to make mistakes because the tests become technical and much more difficult. Having a horse that is correct and consistent is so important at the higher levels and it is here that he really shines and he is getting winning scores. He is also a pleasure to take out. I can always rely on the fact that a show is going to be enjoyable and never stressful. When we get to a show, he takes it all in his stride. It makes life much easier. I wish he was a mare because I would love to breed from him”.
I think it’s really important for people to realise that if they want a really nice dressage horse, they should consider an Irish Draught or an Irish Draught part bred because they are great. How did you bring out the best in his training?
“I worked for Roland Tong and Ben St John James, and Buddy came with me. Roland really helped me by encouraging me and saying, you have got a fabulous horse here. He opened my eyes as to what he could do and I am really grateful for this. I would like people to be open minded to having a Draught, they are a lot more athletic than you think. I would like to see more people considering them and more Irish Draughts competing at Dressage. I also would like see the Draught section of the British Dressage Associated Championships hold classes above Medium Level as they are great classes to showcase the breed. We need to show the world what the Irish Draught can do”.