Coloured horses are a rarity in top-level eventing, but Declan Cullen’s skewbald, Seavaghan Ash, produced an encouraging CCI4*-L clear round in the Blenheim Horse Trials cross-country phase yesterday (Saturday, 17 September).
The 13-year-old gelding has been held back by injuries over the past few years. He has only had two international starts since 2018, when he was well on his way to fulfilling his huge promise, and Declan admitted: “I love him to death!”
“He’s a very precious horse of ours,” said Declan, an equine brand and feed consultant based in Co Armagh with his wife Becky. “I’ve always thought he had Badminton quality. He went round Boekelo and Houghton Nations Cups [at four-star short] aged eight. But he’s since had two tendon injuries, though he was never lame.
“He’s a machine, but trying to get our precious toy back to fitness is a lottery, it’s a science and I don’t think anyone has cracked that nut.”
Skewbalds are viewed by some as lacking the blood for cross-country speed, but although Seavaghan Ash clocked 15.2 time-faults, dropping him down the order from 24th to 36th in this 91-strong field, Declan says this was simply due to lacking fitness. The horse’s dam was thoroughbred, and he has made the time at both Boekelo and Houghton at this level in the past.
“This guy is fast – he doesn’t pull, he doesn’t fight so you can just keep kicking,” Declan said. “We’ve been trying different ways to get him fit and he’s been doing a lot of swimming, but maybe he lacked a couple of gallops. Also, I took some longer lines here to find the better ground.
“And he is so honest. He has tonnes of scope, and I know that wherever I put him at the fence, he’ll take off. I can get in deep or stand a mile off and he’ll come up and scare the living daylights out of me.”
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Royal connections at Blenheim Horse Trials cross-country
Declan has adored Seavaghan Ash almost from birth. He evented the 17-hander’s father, the coloured stallion Glenhill Gold, winning Ballindenisk CCI4* in 2011, and bought Seavaghan Ash as a foal.
“Glenhill Gold is a legend in Ireland,” Declan, 54, explained. “He’s brought me on an amazing journey and now his son has brought me on an amazing journey. His father was qualified to go to Badminton but he got injured, and we’ve always wanted to avenge that entry.”
Glenhill Gold caught rather more than Declan and the whole of Ireland’s eye.
“I got a phone call about three years ago from [the royal stud at] Hampton Court, looking to use his father,” said Declan. “He covered two of The Queen’s mares. I say he’s by royal appointment!”
It’s a poignant week to remember royal connections, with The Queen’s death being marked at Blenheim Horse Trials with a two-minute silence at midday. And Declan had further reason to post a good, safe round over the Blenheim Horse Trials cross-country track.
“It’s my wife’s mother’s 80th birthday tonight and I didn’t want to be the party pooper coming in after a fall or something,” he said. “So we’re going to have a party tonight, let’s live for today and we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
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Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
