National Geographic: Ballad of the Irish Horse Page #2

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Hunt Branch of Pony Club.

"Now if the pony's at grass,

what should he have in the fields?"

Water.

Yes, fine.

What's another reason, David?

Shade.

Shade is most important, isn't it?

Are you looking at his teeth?

Yes.

If he has a full set of teeth,

he's over seven years.

Well done. Good Girl.

There are pony Club branches

all over Ireland

providing an opportunity

for both country and city children

to learn not only riding,

but sportsmanship

and proper care of the animals.

I think it's a very good

foundation for them

because it's getting away

from this usual thing of

being in the cinemas,

the discos, and what have you.

Can you manage, Mark?

No, no... it's a long way up.

I don't know if you'll be

able to hold him, will you?

Keep away, keep away from that.

Go out here

in the middle of the field

so that other people can

get through and get mounted.

Now, come on.

I'll give you a leg.

Ups-a-daisy. Hold on. Good boy.

I find it very rewarding,

and it's more rewarding in that

when some of the children

that were

members of this branch

when I first started.

They're doctors,

or they're solicitors,

or they're business people now.

And they're coming back,

and they've got children.

I call all their children

my grandchildren.

I haven't got any of

my own grandchildren,

but I got a lot of grandchildren.

Use your legs. Take him on.

Now, take it easy.

Just come back, Gay,

and take it easy.

Use your legs. Good boy.

Now don't go so far back.

Now just trot into it.

Good boy. Well done.

Good man. Woops!

All right? You're fine. Next.

Shorten up your reins.

You haven't got much contact,

have you?

Come into it trotting.

For a small branch we've produced

the winning Pony Club

championship teams.

We've gone to England three time.

It is quite something.

I don't want any racing,

and I don't want anybody

going into hospital.

So for goodness sake

just take your ponies down.

You will trot down

across the field to the river.

I'll show you which way to go.

I love seeing these children

with their happy little faces.

But it just gives me

the greatest pleasure.

So a keen horsewoman

passes on the joy of riding,

and the children of yet

another generation forge new links

with their ancient Irish heritage

of horsemanship.

Racing horses was

the Celts' favorite sport.

This plain still bears

the name Curragh,

derived from

their ancient word meaning

"a place

where horse racing is held."

Keep her going now on

to the next one.

Living at the edge of the Curragh,

the Hutchinson family retains

the Celtic passion

for horse racing.

In the paddock behind their home,

Caroline, age 15,

is coached by her father, Pat.

He was an amateur jockey.

She dreams of

becoming a professional.

Whoa, lass. Whoa, lass.

That's all right.

Pony races are held

throughout Ireland

Though the jockeys are

young boys and girls,

the betting is serious business,

with part of the proceeds

going to charity.

Six to four on...

My father always had

about a hundred horses.

And he was one of the

biggest dealers in the country.

Had a couple of

thousand acres of land

and I used to ride

all our own horses.

And now, thank God,

the kids are following on.

Caroline is one of four

Hutchinson daughters

participating in

this competitive world

Mrs. Hutchinson is active too,

for the pony races are

a family affair

much like Little League Baseball.

Some of Ireland's leading jockeys

began their careers

in the pony races.

Sure, Caroline is very good.

She's courageous, she has ability,

she likes the game,

and she loves horses.

And I don't think she'll ever,

no matter what I say

or anybody else says,

she won't do anything else.

She rides to win,

and I think that's the secret.

I'd live to be a professional

jockey when I get older.

The biggest challenge for me

anyway is that I'm girl.

I don't think race riding

is wonderful for little girls.

But they do like it. They love it.

They live for it.

They don't want to

go to the disco.

They want their pony.

They want to be a sport.

You're always thinking of

where you are

and thinking ahead of

the next bend

whether it's sharp

or how to ride the next bend.

And especially if you're on a pony

that's slow earlier on

and comes on fast at the end.

Because of her consistent winning,

Caroline is sought to

race other people's ponies

as well as her father's.

When you're in front

and when you have won,

the owners come running up to you

and say, "Well done" and all that.

It's just great to see

their happy face

from winning on their pony.

And then your friends come up

and say, "Well done".

It's just a great feeling.

I'm delighted

that I won the last race.

That was a female race.

And I'm just thrilled

that I won it

and that I had a good pony.

Winning against

both girls and boys,

Caroline raced

closer to her dream

when she became

champion pony racing jockey

for an unprecedented

fourth consecutive year.

In 1752, with the steeples

as starting and finishing points,

a Mr. O'Callaghan

raced a Mr. Blake

from the church at Buttevant,

jumping walls and fences,

across farms and fields,

to the church at Doneraile...

thus running the first recorded

steeplechase.

Today, some of Ireland's

most popular steeple chases

take place at the Galway Races.

Thousands gather daily to bet

on the horses

in this week of festivities

held at the same time of year

that the ancient Celts assembled

to honor their god of horseracing.

The National Stud was established

to foster

the Irish thoroughbred industry

by providing breeders with

good stallions at reasonable fees.

The record of

thoroughbred breeding dates

from the publication in 1793 of

the first English Stud Book

which listed three Arab stallions

and the Royal Mares.

Every thoroughbred on earth

is descended from them.

A sire is selected by the breeder

on the basis of bloodlines,

tracked back through

the stud book,

his conformation or appearance,

and the number of races

he has won.

Six-year-old Raja Bab horse.

He's a tremendous individual.

A great mover, tremendous quality.

His first crop are now foals.

He won four group races,

including the Corkanorry Stakes

at Royal Ascot

in course record time.

Dr. Maire O'Connor

is deputy manager

and resident veterinarian

at the stud.

We're just starting to

build her back up again...

for a couple of days.

Yeah, yeah.

She's walking very well now.

Ireland is well known

as the European nursery.

We have the climate and the soil

for rearing horses.

There's a tremendous closeness

and a tremendous understanding

of the horse in the Irish people.

Among her responsibilities

is determining

when the mares

are ready for covering.

Every step of the procedure

must be carefully monitored

in the breeding of these delicate

and valuable animals.

Eighteen days after the covering,

a sonogram is made by a visiting

veterinarian and Dr. O'Connor.

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