Sport horse producers

Marti Rudd, who runs Monbeg Sport Horses with husband Tomas Doyle, on the importance of a feeling when buying and selling horses to the right rider

We’ve both worked in competition and dealing yards as working students, grooms and riders. I just always wanted to ride and compete, selling came later when I started to form a business and livelihood from it.

Tomás was always busy at home with breaking and riding other people’s horses, mainly for Goresbridge where we first met. Everyone wanted Tomás on their horse at the sales.

Tomás groomed for Marion Hughes on the Sunshine Tour and he still references what he learnt, mainly when I’m laughing at his bandaging skills or the fact he can’t plait or drive the lorry. But he likes to remind me he groomed for an Olympic showjumper. I was a working student for Lucy Henson (née Jennings) and a rider for Shaun and Sally Parkyn. At Lucy’s, I learnt the fundamentals of running competition horses and at the Parkyns I learnt to stay on!

I evented to three-star and now showjump. Last year, I represented the Irish studbook at the Young Horse World Championships in Lanaken with my mare Monbeg Sapphire, who was bred by Tomás’s cousin, Brendan Doyle.

Tomás evented for a season because I made him, but loves to showjump. Two years ago, he also competed at Lanaken with our home-bred Monbeg Ruby. This year, we both won our respective studbook series leagues, me the six-year-olds and Tomás the seven-year-olds.