National Geographic: Ballad of the Irish Horse Page #3

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With this sophisticated device

they can see

inside the mare's uterus

and determine

if there is a live fetus

You can see it there...

at about 10 o'clock.

Heart beating.

The heart's beating.

Within the white spot,

the pulsing heart

of the tiny fetus

is clearly visible.

The mare's gestation period

is 11 months;

the birth usually takes

less than an hour.

A member of the staff

acts as midwife.

For Maire O'Connor and the staff,

the hundreds of births

they have witnessed in the past

do not diminish

the wonder of this moment.

Within the hour

the age-old instinct

to stand and run with the herd

is already stirring in the foal,

and the fragile new life

is given human help.

These spindly legs,

now trembling and weak,

have centuries of

speed bred in them.

When they are three days old,

healthy foals

are ready to go outside.

Each is examined daily.

Those with special problems

get special attention.

Up you come.

There's a baby, there's a baby.

That's good. Okay.

Come on.

There's tremendous limestone

in Ireland

and you get a tremendous

amount of minerals

coming through the grass

to the horses.

So you get very good

bone development.

And, of course,

race horses need their legs.

So you want good bone

in a race horse.

Born to race, these foals carry

within them the urge to run.

Among these new lives

there are future champions,

bred at the Irish National Stud

to thunder home to victory

on the race tracks of the world.

Here at Goffs,

the finest thoroughbreds

are offered at auction.

A yearling, still totally

untried as a racehorse,

may bring close to

a million dollars.

At 260... any more now,

about $300,000 at 260,

at 260 one more time.

At 260 that's what I sell her

for this time...

Millions are spent

as buyers stake their money

on the animal's pedigree

and conformation.

Vincent O'Brien is the greatest

racehorse trainer in the world

a magician who transforms

horseflesh into gold.

An international group

of investors depends on

his uncanny eye

to select potential champions.

His reputation began to soar

in the '50s

with three consecutive wins

at the world's

most difficult steeple chase:

England's Grand National.

There is stubborn refusal here

by Glen Fire.

And now for a most

unhappy landing.

Those were the leaders

at the 27th jump,

but alas, this fence accounted

for the gallant Sun Dew

and Martuvu.

No, there was not to be

a royal victory this year.

At the last fence,

Tudor Line jumped wide

but Quare Times made no mistake

and galloped away in great style.

Neither Tudor Line

nor Kerry's Cottage

who will finish third,

could possibly catch him now.

It was Quare Times'

Grand National all right.

And it was the third

successive National win

for trainer Vincent O'Brien.

These Irish!

Triumphant in the classic races

of steeplechasing,

O'Brien next turned his wizardry

to flat racing.

Son of a farmer,

fifth of eight children,

he started his remarkable career

with a rented stable

and three horses.

I must have had a natural liking

for horses right from the start,

and that developed

then over the years.

Eventually I started training.

I don't think I would

be happy doing anything else.

Today his empire spreads

over nearly 1,000 acres.

Ballydoyle is the world's finest

private training facility,

with magnificent barns,

covered rides,

gallops each 14 furlongs

in length,

a 19th century Georgian home,

a helicopter pad,

and stables of thoroughbreds

worth millions of dollars

all under tight security.

O'Brien retains a percentage

of every horse he trains.

Among this season's crop

of aristocrats

are seven sons of Nijinsky

three of Alleged,

and nine of Northern Dancer.

O'Brien's extraordinary powers

seem to spring

from an almost magical ability

to sense what each animal ends

to develop and succeed.

It is very important to make

a study of each individual animal

because they're like people

they all differ.

Some horses have got a very easy,

calm disposition,

and they have no mental problems.

But others have, and they

give them special attention.

They're specially trained,

so as to try

and keep them settled

and at ease in themselves.

O'Brien's success

as a trainer is legendary:

His race winnings alone have been

as high as a million dollars

in a single year.

But it is

after a hose's last race is won

that its big moneymaking

career may begin.

Today O'Brien focuses

on training colts.

After a few major wins

of top class races,

the best are retired to stand at stud.

Sold to groups of investors for

more than 25 million dollars each,

these stallions earn huge fees

in their years as sires.

So, the mystique of a man

and his thoroughbreds

becomes big business

an important component of

modern Ireland's economy.

In the 18th century,

Irish farmers

began to breed tough, powerful,

work animals able to

pull both plow and cart.

Today, the blood of the robust

Irish Draft horse

mingles with that of the fiery

thoroughbred to produce horses

with the stamina needed

for jumping and hunting.

The hunt,

as a gentlemanly pursuit,

attained its present form

and popularity

in 18th century England

and was brought here

when Ireland

was under English rule.

Michael Dempsey

is master of hounds

of the world famous

Galway Blazers Hunt Club.

Tempo, get in.

Tempo, come in. Get in.

My grandfather was interested in,

my father was interested

in horses, and my uncle.

They used to both hunt.

At that time, you see,

we used to do

all the work with horses

on the farm.

There were no tractors.

Once the exclusive province

of the aristocracy,

today the hunt's

traditional style is enjoyed

by thousands of ardent

Irish riding enthusiasts.

Dempsey, a local boy,

grew up dreaming

of becoming master of hounds.

But I think I was about either

"One day I will hunt

those Blazer hounds".

That was my ambition.

Yes, all my life was

to hunt those hounds.

A farmer of modest means,

Dempsey is paid

by the members' subscriptions

to hunt the pack.

Oh, I love those hounds,

and I know

all of them individually.

And they're all of a character

and they all are different.

I see them every day

to get very close with them.

You have to be very close

to your hounds

before they'll work with you.

Farmers have long considered

foxes to be vermin.

Hounds were bred

to scent the wild foxes

that his in fields and farms.

Hunters "riding to hounds"

followed on horseback,

and so, this sport evolved.

When you get out there

and your pack of hounds

are going together

and you hear their voice,

that is the greatest feeling

I know.

And a good horse beneath you.

To be able to gallop right

across the country behind them,

and they're really running on

and speaking.

I think it's the best thrill

that anybody could ever get.

I don't know what it does to you

the voice of those hounds

it just gets your blood really up.

The first fox of the day

is scented and pursued.

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