It was August 2017 and we were sat on the train to Dublin horse show. Call us old school but we were equipped with a notepad and pen and cheerfully debating what our business name should be.
We were accompanied by two very important people in our lives (my mum and dad) who have been a massive support from day dot. My mum was a teacher, and my dad a farmer but a typical “horsey man” at heart. This combination saw a big debate on the way down about what name sounded good, looked good, meant something, was unique and was easy to spell (this last one was maybe not completely met!!).
Those of you who have known me for longer (I won’t stipulate how long !) might remember my International horse, Chisum Lea. He was a 17hh bay gelding who had the personality of about 10 horses put together. This horse LOVED to jump.. the only problem was staying on; he wasn’t easy and he HATED men. (More than one vet was put out of his stable very quickly!) But he made me who I am today; strong, determined, stubborn … I travelled the length and breadth of Ireland with him including from Cloughey to Cork, just Chisum and I with no second thought… On some of these journeys I was accompanied by the most dedicated groom the the world, Nicole, at that time under the age of 6! I look back now and wonder if I was half wise, and just thank God I had no major incidents to contend with.
Naming our new business after Chisum seemed appropriate. I wanted to pay homage to a horse that put me back on the path to breeding.
Chisum was what a breeder might call a “freak” he hadn’t particularly strong SJ breeding, or a strong dam line (not all breeding was recorded) and his full brother couldn’t jump a pole on the ground. But he had the biggest heart, and never said no. The uncanny knack of seeing that special something in a horse, is what a true horse person can do, and I like to think I’ve inherited that from my dad, whose Uncle was a great horseman, who won competitions on his horses, in the days when horses were still used on the farm to plough fields and competitions were few and far between. The qualities I saw in Chisum that day and every day after are not only what makes a great horse, but also a good breeder; determination, resilience, a good heart, and maybe a dash of madness.
And so Chisum Lea Farm was born, just in time for a day out at the RDS. With dreams that one day, one (or more) of our homebreds will follow Chisum’s hoof prints and stride across the main arena at the Royal Dublin International Horse Show.
whoiscall August 26, 2023
Good post!