Shane Breen wins at the Christmas Masters CSI 5-Star at London International Horse Show.
We hadn’t seen Shane Breen since the end of last hunting season, and what a change since then. There is rejoicing in Scarteen country with the news that Shane has joined the hunt Mastership. During our many chats (mostly on Zoom) leading up this article, I asked him which gave him the most satisfaction, a top class win in showjumping or a really cracking day’s hunting. Without hesitation the answer came in favour of the latter. However, with a little prompting from wife Chloe he agreed that perhaps winning the Grand Prix in Dublin (with a purse of €330,000) might just shade it.
Champion International Show Jumper Shane Breen joins 4 centuries of Scarteen Masters. / Catherine Power photo
In the midst of worldwide cancellations, this year’s Vilamoura Champions Tour went ahead and Shane was just back after a month of jumping. His best horse on tour was Ipswich, with a Grand Prix win under his girth. Not since the Peninsular Wars when Wellington took his cavalry to fight Napoleon has there been such an equestrian invasion of Portugal. Shane brought a total of twenty horses to Vilamoura, four trucks, three riders and three grooms, based there for over a month.
Irish team manager, Michael Blake, reports that as you read this Shane has been picked to represent his country in Tuesday’s Nations Cup in Vilamoura. Michael added a personal note. “I have known Shane almost all his life and observed him from his pony days up to the present. He is an exceptional horseman and was always destined for great things. He has an extremely successful showjumping career, competing and winning at the very top level.”
Shane’s father, John, 76, still crossing the country. / Catherine Power photo
In the horse world pedigrees are important, and you need only look at the pedigrees of Shane and Chloe Breen to know that you are dealing with two special people. Starting with Shane, the Breen family has been farming, breeding horses, and hunting in that special part of South Tipperary around Emly for longer than anyone can remember. His uncle James who owns possibly the best covert in the hunt country was recognised as one of the all time great producers of top class hunters and an outstanding man across country. Meanwhile Shane’s father, John at seventy-six, still crosses the country with the abandon of a National Hunt jockey on steroids. He was for many years the manager of Bank of Ireland, Cashel, but it didn’t stop him hunting a couple of days a week (out looking at land!) and being Field Master to the Golden Vale in Co. Tipperary. Many a stud farm, racing stable, and sporting hotel around Cashel owes its existence to John Breen from his term at BOI, Cashel. John produced two top class showjumping brothers, Shane and Trevor, the latter having his yard just down the road from Shane’s near Hickstead, UK. The popular opinion around Horse and Jockey was that if John Breen were an equine, Coolmore Stud would have syndicated him years ago!
Shane’s wife, Chloe, grew up at Hickstead. / Catherine Power photo
Then there’s Chloe, daughter of the late Douglas Bunn, founder and owner of the iconic All England Jumping Course at Hickstead. Chloe has jumped at top level, winning the Hickstead Speed Derby in 1999.
Along with their four children, the Breens live in the Bunn family home in Hickstead. Chloe takes up the story of her not inconsequential show jumping career. “It was hardly a career. I would say enthusiastic amateur. I was lucky enough to have two fantastic horses in Citi Dancer (part Connemara) and the home-bred Buddy Bunn (part Welsh Cob). I won the Speed Derby in 1999 before heading off to university and law school and then I was equal third in The Hickstead Derby in 2005 (funnily enough equal third with Shane) and sixth in The Hamburg Derby in 2006.
“I was more intent on becoming a criminal barrister, but then along came Shane and children and an ever growing business, so quite frankly I don’t have time to ride anymore—although I’m planning to change this sometime soon.” While she was called to the bar (as indeed, Shane often was also), she has never practised law but is a key player in Breen Equestrian.
Chloe’s father, Douglas (Dougie) Bunn, could rightly be described as the last of the great Corinthians. He was a man of many parts, all of them significant. A barrister by profession, he would regularly attend court in his wig and gown which cleverly concealed his hunt clothes underneath, ready with the fall of the gavel to make a quick dash to a meet of the Mid Surrey Farmers Drag of which he was Master, or a showjumping event at the White City or Olympia. He and Philip Kindersley (father of champion amateur and bon viveur, Gay) had revived the hunt after the war. It was no place for the faint hearted.
On a normal day they would run three drags of four to five miles each at a racing pace. Riders were expected to bring two additional horses with a groom to move them around so there would be a fresh change after each run. Around 1959 he bought Hickstead for £12,500 and established the Hickstead Derby, first run in 1960. The famous bank with a ten-foot drop proved problematical, with several of the top UK riders refusing to participate. However, Sheamus Hayes on Goodbye was not found wanting and became its first winner. Dougie later attributed the reluctance of the British jockeys to lack of hunting experience. The All England show, with the Derby as its showpiece, quickly became the premier event and was covered over three days by the BBC. During a “long lunch” with BBC commentator David Coleman at Hickstead around 1974 Team Chasing was invented, originally to fill a gap in the BBC schedule the following day. Twenty teams with such names as “The Boring Gorings” took part and after a few inconsequential fences the third and fourth was a jump into a corral four-feet in and four-feet-six-inches out with barely a stride! The sport of team chasing was born. When the history books are written, Dougie will mainly be remembered as an incomparable equestrian organiser and innovator. He had ten children from three families, and Chloe describes herself in military fashion as 3..1 (the first of the third family). Hickstead now extends to 1,000 acres and offers an unparalleled base for Shane and Chloe and their show jumping yard.
Ponies were always available for Shane while growing up. His first hunting pony was Snowflake produced by Pat Cash, but when the bank manager (Dad) took on the onerous role of Field Master to the nearby Golden Vale, Snowflake just wasn’t up to jumping wire palings. So the young jockey graduated to The Spotty Pony produced by Joe Hayes of Ardmayle. This pony could jump wire for fun (there was plenty of it) and unbelievable sport was enjoyed.
Shane takes up the story. “I won a European Medal on The Irish Pony Team back in the day. My path to being a professional was being paid to ride and produce horses for other people for showjumping. And dealing—hunters, hirelings and jumpers—and this developed into our International Horse Sales business that you see today.”
Col. Tom Freyne, Commander, Irish Army Equitation School, has watched Shane’s career. “Shane has always been one of Ireland’s most talented horsemen. From his parents’ yard in Cashel he was a prolific producer of top young horses and it wasn’t long before he made an impact on the International scene. He has represented Ireland from ponies, winning a silver medal, through to Young Riders and Juniors, all the way to Senior World Championships. Shane has been on two winning Aga Khan teams and last year won the five-star Grand Prix at the Dublin Horse Show.”
Shane was fortunate as well in having a family of horsemen as mentors. Tommy Wade was nearby, by then a race horse trainer but having won everything that could be won in the world of showjumping on Dundrum. Seeing Shane’s potential, Tommy took the young jockey under his wing. It was almost a toss up whether Shane would go racing or jumping. He was light enough for either. However, over a cup of tea, Tommy wisely advised him to stick with jumping.
“Look here, if you go racing you’ll have broken every bone in your body before you’re thirty. You’ll be still jumping when you’re sixty,” Tommy said.
Shane (right) with brother Trevor, out with the Scarteen at Lattin / Catherine Power photo
Meanwhile younger brother, Trevor, was equally talented but his interest lay more towards rugby. But that didn’t stop him winning in the Royal Dublin Show at the tender age of nine! More academic than Shane, he completed his degree and became a teacher in Rockwell College, which allowed him to take over the yard at home in Cashel. This led to Trevor becoming another professional showjumper, now with a yard just a few minutes away from Hickstead. Shane’s move to England and Hickstead co-incided with Trevor taking over the yard at home and really concentrating on showjumping. While Trevor hunts and often accompanies Shane on his return visits to Wexford—where they hunt with Wexford Master and huntsman Mary Kehoe and, of course, Scarteen—Shane is the one who is passionate about the winter game. It has become something of a tradition for the brothers to bring some of their international show jumping colleagues to jump the banks, after which the guests go home amazed at the proficiency of the Irish hunters and the bravery of the jockeys.
It seemed a natural progression that Shane, loving hunting so, would join the Scarteen Mastership. Chris Ryan showed his enthusiasm for the move. “It’s always a privilege to see Shane out with The Scarteen. His family have strong roots in the area and have been closely involved with the hunt. Shane has been hunting with us for many years, and there’s always such a ‘buzz’ when he’s out. His knowledge, understanding, and ‘feel’ for both horse and hound is extraordinary. He brings horsemanship to a new level. Try stay with him if you can! He’s watching hounds all the time and is able to evaluate them at a glance.”
No doubt on the big days he will have as his wing man Grand National winning jockey, Paul Carbery, one of the outstanding men across country of this or any other generation. Paul was not found wanting when asked to comment on Shane the horseman. “Shane is a very talented rider. Showjumping, his hands and feet never seem to move. And he has a marvelous seat. He makes it look so easy until you try to copy him. I’ve had many great days in Scarteen with Shane, Joe Taylor (RIP) and Chris. I remember a day riding a grey horse of Shane’s who could only be mounted in the lorry but what a gate jumper. I ended giving a lead to the field (including Shane) over a really stiff gate near the Scarteen kennels.”
Again Col. Tom Freyne. “Shane’s passion for hunting is infectious and his annual gathering of fellow show jumpers to hunt in Ireland each winter is legendary. Some advice to anyone thinking of attempting to follow him across the famed Scarteen banks: tighten your girth and hope your horse is very fit!”
Back to Hickstead, there is Shane, the family man, businessman, and star showjumper. Again Chloe takes up the running. “The kids all ride at differing levels. We are just dipping our toes into the pony circuit. We bought a fabulous pony for Darcy who jumped the 138 in Dublin last year. They say that ‘Good ponies make good riders’ and I think that’s true. School comes first though, and this limits the amount of time to be spent riding. They have their whole lives for this and we don’t want them to feel that riding is the only avenue open to them.”
Such is the pressure of the circuit in a normal year that Shane doesn’t see a lot of his family or Hickstead. Again, Chloe. “Pretty much every week, with the odd exception. So probably forty weeks in total. If you take into account the other riders in The Breen Team then it would be closer to fifty-one weeks. The only week in the calendar that we don’t have a show with horses entered is Christmas week. We would load up for Liverpool International on Boxing Day and then have to race back to catch a flight for Dubai on 1st January. Two years ago Shane arrived back in the truck from Liverpool at six a.m. and had to leave for the airport at nine a.m.”
With a staff of fifteen, over two hundred horses, twenty brood mares and young stock, Hickstead is not so much a horse yard as much as an international business. His owners, or investors as Shane describes them, are a real Who’s Who. Shane, once again. “Team Z7 from the UAE as well as being the owners of Z7 Ipswich and other top Grand Prix horses such as Can Ya Makan and Z7 Ascot. Then there is the Pysarenko Family from The Ukraine. They are investors and we are partners in a breeding farm in The Ukraine with them. Also the Old Lodge Stud and Prince Torki of Saudi Arabia are the co-owners of Golden Hawk and owners of other top horses such as Quintella. Also in the line up are Carmel and Dermot Ryan from County Waterford and the Sunde Family from Norway. The extended Breen family have a major stake, probably owning seventy-five percent of the horses that we manage to twenty-five percent owned by third parties. We have just tipped over two hundred horses in the team.”
Shane intends to move the breeding side of the business back to Cashel where he has bought extra land adjacent to his father’s. The brood mares and young stock from Hickstead and the Ukraine will end up there.
Chris has the last word. “We’re so excited to have him on the Scarteen team this season as Joint-Master. The collective heart beat of the Scarteen has just risen!”
Posted December 3, 2020
This article was first published in The Irish Field.