France’s Rio Olympic eventing team gold and individual silver medallist Astier Nicolas has started riding the first offspring of Quickly Du Buguet, with whom he was placed at Badminton Horse Trials.
Irish Coffee is a four-year-old and he has top-class performance on both sides of his pedigree as he is by Upsilon, who was ridden to four wins at four-star level by Tom Carlile.
“Irish Coffee has just arrived at the yard,” said Astier. “He’s a stallion and he’s ‘a bit too stallion’ at the moment, but we’ll give him time and see if he settles.
“We may have him cut, particularly as he is pretty small, like his dam, so he might be an ideal horse for a girl coming off ponies or something like that. But we are right at the beginning and we’ll take things step by step.”
Quickly’s breeders Odile and Jean-Marie Cotinet are good friends of Astier’s so they decided to breed from the mare together and share the offspring.
“Jean-Marie is a top farrier and also breeds, so they bred Irish Coffee at their farm,” explained Astier.
Jean-Marie lives near Toulouse and Irish Coffee started his ridden education last November in the south of France. Astier is based in Normandy in the north and the horse arrived with him a week ago.
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Astier said: “Apparently he was quieter when he left the farm where he was started, a little quirky but brave out hacking and so on. Arriving here in Normandy he has been pretty excited – we’ve just ridden him in the school and he’s easy to ride, but a bit excited in the barn.
“He will probably do a bit of work now, get him more ready to start jumping, school him and then he’ll go in the field to finish growing and we’ll ride him again later in the year.”
Quickly Du Buguet, an Anglo Arab by Zandor Z, is now 18 years old. She won the CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) at Blair Castle Horse Trials in 2014 and two years later finished 14th at Badminton.
Since her retirement she has had four foals including Irish Coffee. Two are by the Olympic showjumper Mylord Carthago*HN and one is by Jarnac, who also jumped at championship level.
“Then she had a break and we will try to put her in foal again this spring,” said Astier.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
