For SaleFor Breeding

Doonaveeragh Emma

Show Jumping

Studbook: ISH

Gender: Mare

Height: 168 cm

Color: Dark Bay

Level: Brood Mare

Year of birth: 2007

Pedigree

Doonaveeragh Emma: ISH

SIRE

Creevagh Ferro: KWPN

DAM

Legacurry Rose: ISH

SIRE OF DAM

Classic Vision: ISH

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1. Sarah Lewis

Role:: Rider, Trainer, Yard Owner

I was privileged to grow up around horses. My parents had a hunter livery and dealing yard and my mother and I ran a little pony dealing business. I have always loved producing young horses and ponies, and have produced all my horses from unbroken three or four year olds. The journey with the horses brings me as much satisfaction as competing. I evented for 30 years before concentrating on show jumping, and was a successful working pony rider and so my riding education has been broad and correct and the horses get a very thorough education and a variety of work. We are lucky to have beautiful hacking where we live. With a small yard I am lucky enough to be able to spend a lot of time with the horses, working out the best approach for each individual. When training others I like to continue this ethos, working hard to find the best way for each combination to progress. I have been lucky to ride some lovely horses, and was successful in eventing up to CCI3* level and have jumped up to CSI2* 1.45 level since turning to show jumping. While I was eventing I also competed successfully up to Elementary level in dressage.

Related News

3 Apr. 2023

March

6th March was a very busy day: Jack Simon Fraser made his way into the world just before 7 in the morning, a very bonny little boy and a lovely little brother for Lila. I then went and schooled Arietta and Askeaton at Coombelands with Trevor which went very well, and then shot home to see Khalissy off to her new home, and still made it to Pilates by 4!

Breakdance moved to the Breens on the 8th March, and has benefited greatly from being in a bigger yard, and from me having more confidence with him. He has had to get used to working in a busier arena and to the noise that goes with it, and I have had easily accessible help with getting on him, which has previously been a little bit of a problem.

We had a lovely, busy weekend, with both Anna and Sophie staying with their little families. It was lovely for Rory and Immy to meet baby Jack, and for Lila to show off her big-sister skills! Mark and I also had a wonderful, if freezing cold, day at Cheltenham - taking full advantage of not having the horses at home!

Having had a little break from shows we all went to Felbridge on 21st March. Breakdance jumped a lovely round, albeit for a few poles! He is still inclined to get tense in the warm-up and holds the tension for the first few fences. Askeaton jumped a great round to be just out of the money in the 1.10 open, but sadly Arietta was not at all herself, jumping very spookily over the first four fences, before stopping at the fifth fence and decanting me through the wing onto the ground. Airbag to the rescue, but sadly it doesn't stop your confidence getting dented! Subsequently we found that her mouth was a bit sore, and she was very upset about it, so she had a few days off, and then a few days in a hackamore before getting back to work.

We had a very good school at Trevor's with Askeaton with a view to stepping back up to 1.20 and set off to Hascombe full of confidence. Breakdance jumped his best round to date in the Newcomers, just for one pole in the jump-off which was probably my fault, but very naughty Askeaton refused to play at all, stopping at the first and third fences. We went back for a school yesterday and she was as bold as ever, so who knows what was going through her head on Wednesday. She is the most frustrating creature!

All this drama left my confidence feeling very shaky. However, a few well chosen words from some very nice friends have strengthened my resolve, and I took myself off to Hascombe again yesterday with just Mark to pick up poles and call and ambulance if needed. We kept the jumps small and all the horses jumped round really nicely. Sometimes the acronym KISS (Keep it simple stupid) is the best way to go. A lot of over-thinking goes into all sport, and I'm not sure that it ever helps. Add in a large sensitive animal, and a sport that is intrinsically rather dangerous, and you can get a serious muddle going!

Sadly having three horses at full livery has proved a little bit more than my bank balance can cope with in the long term, so the horses are coming home again after Easter. I have also missed the lovely hacking and turn-out here, and hopefully I will cope with them all now the warmer weather is coming.

Zarnita and Emma are both about six weeks away from foaling now. They have coped really well with the appalling weather, although I have had them in at night in the worst of it. They look really well, benefiting from Stud Cubes from Saracen Horse Feeds and the most delicious hay from Spanton & Partners.

What a lot of changes have been fitted into one month! The weather has been so challenging, and I'm thrilled that I have had somewhere so safe to ride in all the gales and rain. Hopefully the worst is behind us now, the fields will dry up and the grass will start growing and we can have a peaceful and more successful Spring and Summer.

Many thanks to all at Breen Sport Horses, who are a tremendous team, Mark, and my lovely sponsors, Saracen Horse Feeds, Just Equine, MacWet Gloves, NDS Equine and Protexin Equine.

1 Jan. 2023

Looking back at 2022 and Forward to 2023

It's always hard trying to look back and be objective about 12 whole months, they flew by, but looking back January 2022 seems a very long time ago.

To sum up as succinctly as possible: by 4th January I had managed to fall off twice, 30 minutes apart! I then invested in an air jacket which made my two Autumn falls less painful. We spent half of February having COVID and isolating before April and I made it the whole way to Spain for four weeks of the Sunshine Tour. Although the sun was notably absent for most of the month of March,and Askeaton was lame for half the tour, we did actually have a great time. It was great to be back and to see the amazing expansion and improvements made there, it has to be the best facility in the world. Khalissy really got going and set the standard for her very successful year, and my lovely Arietta stepped up week by week, finishing with a placing in the final CSI1* 1.35 Grand Prix.

April and May were a bit calmer: Doonaveeragh Emma had her second beautiful colt foal, Alchornes Pure Gold, by Golden Hawk. The horses all continued to jump well and BE Khalissy in particular put in a stellar performance at CSI* Chard to jump four clear rounds and finish with 6th in the small Grand Prix.

We had a wonderful family holiday in France in June, and then very sadly April left to further her career with Gemma Stevens. April was my wing man here for four years, and losing such a very important part of a very small team was tough. Both Khalissy and Arietta continued to jump well, Khalissy consistently placing at 1.20 and Arietta jumping some great rounds at 1.30. Askeaton seemed sore again, and she took a very long summer holiday.

Finally we had a summer where not only did we go to parties, but we also had a party here to celebate my 60th birthday, and Polly, my sister's 50th birthday. It was a great day filled with friends and family.

Ellie Collins joined for the latter part of the summer before leaving to set up her own transport company. I have missed her bubbly company, and her brilliant care of the horses. I'm not good at change and did find so much in a short period of time hard, but we now have Lauren Andrews here who brings good skills and experience to the job.

Wondering if Askeaton was every going to make it back into the ring I bought Billy Breakdance in September. He is a charming horse, and is making really good progress. I failed to notice how tall he was before I got him home, but he is very polite and so hopefully won't get too big and strong for me.

All the horses were back in work by the beginning of November. Khalissy and Arietta came back in great form. I always ask Ed Lyall at Sussex Equine to give them an MOT before they compete and they passed with flying colours.

We had our last show of 2022 at Hascombe on 7th December. It was great fun to have Khalissy back in the ring. She felt like a proper expert, albeit only round the 1m, but certainly lovely to have her back. Breakdance jumped very well in the 1m and I rode him appallingly badly in the Newcomers for a couple of fences. Arietta then jumped a super round in the 1.20. It was nice to end the year feeling that I'm properly getting my teeth into the jumping again.

Askeaton has had some very special treatment with Arthramid, and just before Christmas she was given the go ahead to start jumping again. I had a lesson with Trevor Breen with her after Christmas and she felt fabulous, so fingers crossed that we can keep her sound and have some more fun together.

One of the big events of December for me was the Breen Christmas Auction where Alchornes Pure Gold was one of the horses up for sale. I am absolutely thrilled that he has been bought by Michael Duffy, he will have the very best chance to be the very best he can be, and hopefully will be a good advert for Emma and also pay back the faith that Shane showed by putting him forward for the auction and the Michael showed by buying him. Michael is a great fan of Golden Hawk, and always liked Emma so hopefully Tom will do him proud.

We have had the most magical Christmas with my sister and her children, and Anna and Sophie with their little families. Having a 3 year old and two toddlers at Christmas was wonderful, they were so good and sweet and Father Christmas really came up trumps with the stockings! The reindeer trampled ash all over the carpet, and ate their carrots very messily and Father Christmas drank his Aquavit (45% proof) and ate his mince pie. Hopefully not everyone gave him Aquavit or he'd never find his way home. There was a slight crisis before lunch as I forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer (mainly due to not reading the instructions properly) so we had lamb stew for Christmas lunch and turkey for Boxing Day lunch. Mark's sister Clare had to come back for Boxing Day to get her turkey. Perhaps not my finest domestic goddess performance, but everyone was very good about it.

Like everyone with horses Christmas has been frantically busy and very hard work, luckily Frankie Walker has been helping me out, and Mark has been a total hero while Lauren has been off with the horrible lurgy! I had a last lesson with Trevor before he flew off to Dubai, and will try and keep my bad habits in check till he gets back. I'm very much looking forward to 2023 with four lovely horses to jump. I will definitely be taking the sticky spray and the airbag to Hascombe on the 4th January.

As always many, many thanks and Happy New Year to the team who keep the show on the road. Mark, Lauren, Frankie and Sussex Equine, Cinder Hill Veterinary Clinic, Casserley & Sons and Caitlin McCaffery, and to my fabulous sponsors Saracen Horse Feeds, Protexin Equine, Just Equine, NDS Equine, and MacWet Gloves.

27 Nov. 2021

Getting Busier

Askeaton and BE Khalissy are now fit enough to start working in the school so April has clipped them both and they are looking fantastic. It will be a little while until they are fit enough to start jumping, but they can certainly do some pole work very soon.

I have continued with getting to know Billy Arietta and working out exactly how best to make a real partnership with her. We had an excellent training session at Hascombe Equestrian. What a lovely arena, with a very good course of modern fences. I then jumped my first Foxhunter with her at Felbridge. She was a little bit green in the old ring, a new ring for her, but she is so brave and careful and added another clear round to her tally. She has had no difficulty in making herself at home here, she has got such a lovely character and is beginning to come out of herself in a slightly mischievous way.

I have been so impressed with the fantastic after sales service at the Billy Stud, not only did Arietta come with a very beautiful Billy Stud rug, but also Roger McCrea gave me a hand with jumping her. It's always great to have an insight into the system of how a horse was produced before you had it, so that you can understand it better, and it was very interesting to watch the other Billy horses and riders schooling at the same time. "There are many ways to skin a cat" and I think that it is always good to look outside one's own system and be very open to the ideas of more successful systems.

The foals at Breen Equestrian have now been weaned and Colin is with his friends in a big barn, feasting on haylage and reclining on the thick straw. I have collected Emma for the winter, because I love having her at home, and we also have the wonderful Zarnita to keep her company. We have been lucky to have such a beautiful November, so they are very happy out in the field with lots of grass and two feeds a day. They had their rugs on last night, and when it gets muddy they will come in at night.

Boringly my knee has stopped getting better and is rather unstable and very painful, especially at night. I'm off to have an MRI scan and crossing my fingers that I can be patched up without too much drastic intervention, at least until after the Sunshine Tour which is my current goal.