The O’Brien family of Grange near Athenry in East County Galway
have been well known as one of the outstanding and successful families
on the pony showjumping circuit in Ireland between 1990 and 2004. The
husband and wife team of Thomas and Frances were both born and reared
in this rural area of undulating fertile farmland. Starting with two
stables in the mid 80’s.
Farming and Horses
Tomas has already been involved with horses. As a child he remembers
his father Joe jumping at shows throughout the West, specialising in
the champion stone wall. This was the highjump competition of that era,
and Joe O’Brien travelled on his bike with the horse in tow as
far afield as Elphin in Roscommon and Ballinasloe to jump and often
win with Mountain Dew. Both of Joe’s brothers, Tommy and Jack
also drove their horses and carts long distances to Oranmore to deliver
turf and collect seaweed for the land. The same farm work-horses took
the brothers hunting when the Blazers met locally. Tommy, a successful
showjumper, subsequently trained racehorses from 1972 on. While some
of his brothers went pony racing, ponies did not feature in his boyhood
years, for Tomas, even then, had one main equestrian interest and that
was in the sport of Show-jumping. Throughout his life, this has been
his sole equine passion, and this same enthusiasm is now firmly ingrained
in his own family today.
His own horse
When Tomas was fifteen in 1957, his father bought him his first horse
at Ballinasloe Fair. This was Temple Tynagh, a two year old well bred
animal which he trained and took showjumping making an auspicious start
by wining his first class at his first show. It was a Bunratty, where
he had to beat ninety other horses, but it started him on a track from
which he has never since deviated : he was hooked on the sport, as he
says himself ‘show-jumping mad’ Tomas jumped in Junior Trials
and attended trainings in Charle Haughey’s Kinsealy estate with
Paul Daragh, Trevor Monson and Emer Haughey under Anthony Paalman and
Iris Kellett, although he did not make the team to go abroad.
Sadly, his father died at a very early age leaving Tomas, the eldest
of twelev, with the responsibility of looking after his younger siblings.
At only nineteen he had to grow up rather quickly and for some years
he was kept busy, in his spare time, training his six younger brothers
and training their horses and driving to Shows throughout Connacht.
He smiles as he remembers that in the early days of lorries without
ramps, the driver always had to locate a suitable bank or loading ramp
on the roadside, unload and walk the horses to the showgrounds and repeat
this procedure, walking the horses back and forth and loading each horse
after it had jumped its round.
A New Family
Having inherited a family farm, he met and married Frances Uniacke from
nearby Dunsandle and they have four children, Joseph, Ruth, Thomas and
David. Frances, also raised on a farm, was no newcomer to the world
of horses as they always had working horses on the farm. It was only
as an adult that she discovered that both her father and grandfather
were steeped in the horse tradition, her grandfather having broken and
trained young racehorses for Lord French, and her fathe, Thomsie Uniacke
having showjumped as a young man. Both men had been involved in the
hurlong tradition and had gained treasured Croke Cup medals so obviously
hurling, rather than horses was the main family tradition. Bringing
Temple Tynagh up the ranks to grade A in showjumping started a pattern
which was to be continued in the present generation of the O’Brien
family. The challenge as well as the fun, according to Tomas, lies in
buying a complete novice and by training, conditioning and working with
the ability of that animal, producing a performer that will continuously
improve and compete and top level, either with the O’Briens or
with a furture owner.
Outstanding among the novice ponies they brought on were Greenvill Lad
in the 128cms category and Ballindooley Queen and Rosie Duncan in the
138cm section and Mid West Star in the 148cm. As well as the brilliant
six year old Bertas Clover these ponies were all bought locally and
brought up to Grade A by the family. Bertas Clover bought as a three
year old, is by a Clover Hill stallion, Moores Clover, who never grew
to horse size and she is out of a Connemara mare, A striking dark bay
mare with a strong sturdy frame, she jumped incredibily well in her
short life with David, especially during his last year in ponies.
David and travel abroad
In 2004 alone, the family made four continental trips, competing at
six Shows, with the Irish pony Show-jumping Team. Youngest son David
acquitted himself admirably, coming 2nd in the individual in Fontainbleu.
3rd in the Grand Prix in Holland and also jumped to victory in Germany
where he won an International Class. It was also a year in which the
O”Briens made the long sea and overland road journey to compete
in Poland at the European Pony Chamnpionships, with five team ponies
in their lorry. Another trip to Liege in Belgium and Verona in Italy
in November resulted in a Grand Prix win for David and Bertgas Clover
at Liege. This was an incredible win more especially so because the
Leige Grand Prix had never been taken by an Irish rider. Furthermore,
the breeding of Bertas Cloveris as Irish as they come, being all Irish
Draught and Connemara. Their return to Grange at the end of the last
overseas The Grand Prix win at Liege was celebrated in style with a
big house-party and bonfires along the roadside, an unforgettable welcome
home. Another big dahy was when David aboard Star of Cashel broke the
Irish pony high jump record, by learing 1.85 metres at Portlaoise Pony
Puissance in 2004. Grandfather Joe O’Brien, a high jump; specialist
in his own day, would have been proud!
That was the first year that family commitments had enabled Frances
to travel to see the family compete abroad. She was chief navigator
in the lorry with Tomas driiving the ponies for the Irish pony team,
and she enjoyed it hugely, learning to take the twenty minutes of sleep
when the opportunity arises, and to live with the inevitable tiredness
like a seasoned campaigner. The trips abroad meant weeks away from home
driving five valuable ponies in all sorts of driving conditions, from
snow covered mountain roads to busy motorways all over western Europe.\\David’s
schooling was not overlooked as he was flown home after each event to
be minded by his grandmother, and to put his head in the books again,
preparing for the Junior Cert. Exam. His last year in ponies was to
end on a very high note when he was presented with the Irish Field award
ad Pony Showjumpr of the year.
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A great sport, -Show-jumping
Frances and Thomas thrieve on the lifestyle that success in Show jumping
has brought to the family. According to them, their involvement in the
sport has meant their children have passed their teenage years trouble
free. Being totally committed to their sport, with equestrian events
every weekend, the schooling and preparation of the ponies leaving little
time for for other diversions, they have, their parents hapily claim,
been easily reared. They both stree athat they and the entire family
owe a lot to show jumping, a great sport in their view and one of the
few sporting activities where both boys and girls can compete at the
same level.
For them it is an enjoyable lifestyle whether winning or losing, trying
harder each time, taking on board the responsibilities, the disapointments
and the joys, an adrenilin fix each time they compete.
The three O’Brien boys have all represented Ireland on pony teams
some eight or nine times abroad, travelling to France, Italy, England,
Holland, Germany, Belgium and Polland. They and their sister Ruth all
started competitive Show jumping at age eight, and not before, Tomas
being of the belief that children can pick up bad riding habits if they
start at a younger age when they are not really able to understand instruction.
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