Ballykelly Sport Horses

06/09/2026

🏆Super Mum - Ballykelly Hi Hope☘️

As our summer show season comes to a close, we take a look back at a truly wonderful mare in the Ballykelly breeding programme, our 24 year old “Super Mum”, Ballykelly Hi Hope. ❤️

Now living her best life, Hope is second generation homebred, a Traditional Irish mare and the first foal of our prolific champion foundation mare, Corrib Eva.

Hope is by the Thoroughbred stallion Big Sink Hope, who stood with Stevie Russell in Co. Clare. Her damline carries four further generations of Thoroughbred blood - Salluceva, Triggerero, Double Seven and Jab before going back to the Irish Draught stallion Young Ireland (1960).

This summer we were incredibly proud to bring three of Hope’s daughters into the show ring. Two full sisters by Sean Barker’s legendary Gortfree Hero I.D Stallion, Ballykelly Jasmine and Ballykelly Countess, named after her prolific champion and multiple Dublin Coote Cup winning grandam Corrib Countess. The third and last foal of Ballykelly Hi Hope is the 3 year old filly, Ballykelly Fairy II by the TB stallion Lucarelli, standing at Drumhowan Stud.

🌟Ballykelly Jasmine continued her winning ways, taking two Championships, Bannow & Rathangan Show & Cappamore Show and a Reserve Championship in Ossory Agricultural Show Rathdowney at her three shows.

🌟 Ballykelly Countess was shown for the first time since winning the Irish Shows Association All Ireland Traditional Filly Foal Championship and took the Mare Championship on her first day out at Raheendaw Horse & Pony Show. She then made her Dublin debut and went on to have an incredible win in a strong, open Stinted Mare Class at Dublin Horse Show following in the footsteps of her dam, grandam and great grandam. 💚

🌟 And then there is Hope’s “lookalike” daughter, the 3 year old Ballykelly Fairy II who entered the show ring for the first time this summer. We were thrilled with her, winning Reserve Champion and Champion Young Horse at her two shows - Bannow & Rathangan and Carnew Agri Show.

So as we close the 2026 show season with great hope for the future and the 4th generation foals due in March 2027 we cannot but look back and be grateful for “Super Mum” Ballykelly Hi Hope 🙏 😍🤩

TRM Equine Nutrition TopSpec Carr & Day & Martin

02/09/2026

Rest in peace, Dessie 🙏 You’ll leave a void in the show ring — the forever benchmark 🤍

Three former winning owners browsing the special commemorative catalogue for the Bannow & Rathangan Show All Ireland three-year-old final: Ballykelly Sport Horses Margaret Jeffares, Dessie and Paula Howard.

27/08/2026

🏆🥇Thank You, TopSpec 🤩💚

A huge thank you to TopSpec our feed partners here at Ballykelly Sport Horses, for your continued support of our horses and our breeding programme.

We were very proud to have our homebred mare Ballykelly Countess included in The Irish Field Top Spec special of Dublin Horse Show Winners, a celebratory page

Good nutrition is such an important part of raising, developing and keeping our horses performing at their best and we are so proud to have TopSpec alongside us since 1999 on our Ballykelly journey.

Thank you to Nicola Tyler, Katy Mickle Shirley Jones and the TopSpec team for believing in what we do and for supporting our homebred horses. 🐴🌿

24/08/2026

🌟 Ballykelly Crusader “Ted” 2026 C**t 😍🤩

By the 5* 1.60 showjumping stallion Grand Cru VD Vijf Eiken (Contact VD Heffinck/Heartbreaker) out of the well related blood mare Ballykelly Donail Belle (Shannondale Sarco/Beau Royale xx/Bohemond xx/Artic Que xx)



TRM Equine Nutrition TopSpec

18/08/2026

🌟Soon to be back in work 🙌

Our 4 year old homebred Ballykelly Rockstar has been produced slowly for the future. We could not be more happy with his ride ability and how he has developed and progressed. Here he is schooling around a short course of fences earlier this year before heading on his summer holiday. He has had the very best start in his career with MK Sport Horses and is now ready to go on 🙌 🤩

By Hillary Drummond Sport Horses stallion Rock N Roll Ter Putte (Diamant de Semilly/Darco) standing with Greg Broderick Ballypatrick Stables Cheryl Broderick out of our well related homebred mare Ballykelly Eva (OBOS Quality/Salluceva xx)



TRM Equine Nutrition TopSpec Carr & Day & Martin Irish Horse Board Ciaran Moran Alyson Keane

17/08/2026

Outside of running Ballykelly Sport Horses and Mr Jeffares Blackcurrants with her husband Des, Margaret Jeffares is the driving force behind Good Food Ireland. Photo taken between competing at Dublin Horse Show 💚

The Good Food Ireland chief executive on tourism, food trends and the ‘bacon-and-cabbage’ issue

15/08/2026

👨‍🌾👩‍🌾 🐶 🐶🐶 🐴 🚛 Well the long drive to Cappamore Show didn’t seem so long going home 🏠 🏆🏆🏆🥇🥇🥇💃🕺🦮🦮🦮

Our homebred mare Ballykelly Jasmine (Gortfree Hero I.D Stallion/Big Sink Hope xx) couldn’t let her full sister Ballykelly Countess take all the praise for winning at Dublin Horse Show.

She stamped her ground to win the Dry Mare Class, then went on to win the Traditional Irish Bred Brood Mare Class and finally claimed the overall Champion Mare of Show.

Des played a blinder as sub again 🤣👏So wonderful to have Dad, Tom Frost and brother Gordon come to meet us from home in Co Clare and to catch up with so many old friends.

Congratulations and thank you to Pj Ryan and all the show committee on the 70th Anniversary of the Show. It’s always such a warm, welcoming show and great day out.

TRM Equine Nutrition TopSpec Carr & Day & Martin 🙏

Traditional Irish Horse Association Irish Shows Association Horse Sport Ireland Irish Horse Board

14/08/2026

🌟 Always wonderful to see the foals developing🐴 Our gorgeous c**t Ballykelly Crusader “Ted” by 1.60 showjumper Grand Cru out of our top CCI5* related mare Ballykelly Donail Belle (Shannondale Sarco/Beau Royale xx) meets “Duke” Verbier de Muze/Carthago) out of Ballykelly Eva (OBOS Quality/Salluceva xx)😍



TRM Equine Nutrition TopSpec

12/08/2026

🐴 🥇After an incredible win for Ballykelly Countess at her Dublin Horse Show debut we look back at “Georgie” as a foal and see how she has developed in her seven years. Now in foal for the first time and due March 2027, we cannot but be excited for her future 🙏

🌟Shown only as a foal in 2019, as Covid stole her 2 and 3 year old years. She won the All Ireland Traditional Filly Foal Championship at Mountbellew Agricultural Show, was Champion part-bred foal at the Irish Draught Horse Breeders Association National Show and Champion Foal at Bannow & Rathangan Show 🏆🤩

☘️A true Traditional Irish mare, Ballykelly Countess is by the great Gortfree Hero I.D Stallion and out of a prolific champion, TIH mare, Ballykelly Hi Hope with 5 generations of old Irish TB sires behind her before going back to the ID sire Young Ireland. 🇮🇪

A homebred mare, bred with purpose and now a Dublin winner, let the next chapter begin💚

Traditional Irish Horse Association Irish Shows Association Dublin Horse Show 2026
TRM Equine Nutrition TopSpec Carr & Day & Martin Flying The Flag Shirley Jones