Cloverhill was registered ID. however he was by a TB stallion, Golden beaker. Cloverhill has had a huge impact on sporthorse/showjumping breeding in Ireland (just as KOD has). I have come across many over the years and often they are a bit stubborn, difficult but most importantly brave and scopey jumpers. The owner was a gas man, Cloverhill stood at the same fee for his entire stud career and the owner was know to be a bit odd - if he didnt like the look of the mare owner,their horsebox/car or simply didnt feel like it - he wouldnt let the mare be covered. Whether you got ur mare covered or not was entirely down to his frame of mind on the day.
Thats really useful. I know the stallion my mare was by was by Clover Hill, but am really struggling to find any other info about him, and I suppose thats probably why! There do seem to be big holes in the Irish breeding records!
Well, as he covered a lot of unregistered mares Im sure many if not most of his offspring are themselves unregistered. Yeah, unfortunatly its oly really since the late '90s that people started bothering to register pedigrees. Though a huge number of Irish horses had passports a lot sooner than UK horses did - due to the large amount of horses who competed with the SJAI down through the years. Ireland has far fewer happy hackers than the UK.
I find alot of clover hill horses are a funny bay colour!Bay with paler points rather than darker..
DItto glenruby Used to hunt one and by god he jumped but VERY stubborn! not nasty just did things his own way!
Yeah the stallion has had some successful progeny, but no record of his dam at all. Just trying to work out a bit more of my mares background, as she has her Sire and Dam recorded, and obviously her sires sires side (the clover hill side) recorded, but nothing else
Interesting re. the passports though.
Sam_I_am, thanks, she has apparently the typical "Clover Hill bum" but is a true bay
iirc Vere Phillipps used to have quite a few Clover Hill horses through his yard, one of his best sjers, Michael or Michelangelo or something (sorry, can't quite remember his name!) was a bay CH gelding. this is going back to 1993 so please forgive my faulty memory!
they all really jump, and iirc they tended to have long backs, geldings as well as the mares, and good temperaments.
Clover Hill sired 1,730 registered foals! He was born in 1973 in County Galway bred by Stan Page. He began his stud career in 1976 and stood for the rest of his life with Philip Heenan at Ringroe stud co. Tipperary and died in 1997. When he died he was the leading sire of Irish show jumpers, He ranked 12th in the World Breeding Federation for sports horses listing of the leading sires of show jumpers from 1991-2001. Hope this helps. We had a super hunter from CH lines and he really was one in a million he would have jumped the moon if asked to!!!
Was there an article in H&H about his owner a few years ago? If so, I think there was a mention about his ability to charm the birds from the trees..... Apparently while the H&H reporter was there, the owner gave a whistle and a robin flew down and sat on his hand!
(Of course, this could have been an article about someone else, my memory is not what it was..)
Have been trying to do the same thing ever since. Both robins in my barn think I'm bonkers!
Kerilli, yeah madam has a long back, D reckoned that was common with them aswell... looking at Clover Hills parents, they all did too! I suppose with that no. of foals sired, he would have to have sired some good ones...
Nice to know Vere has some very successful ones though
Chazza, thanks! Yeah all the ones I have heard of can jump, just hope mine isn't the exception
Simsar, crikey thats ALOT of foals!
Your ponies are gorgeous, and both seem to have the same ears as mine
Maybe thats the only thing she has inherited from her grand sire
aside from the similar colouring and typical CH head- less blocky than a KOD head, wide forehead, smallish eyes- The CH horses Ive known are bold as brass but prone to worry, like a cribber here, few ulcers there..
My husband has a CH grandson - he's by White Clover who was also a grade B (I think) sj-er.
I borrowed him over the summer to educate and found him absolutely lovely. He was a bit of a worrier in that his natural reaction was just to run faster when he didn't understand but with a bit of patience he suddenly clicked into learning and was so trainable and willing. After just a couple of months he was offering every lateral move. I didn't really work on his jumping as that has always been pretty faultless - by God he's scopey. I can't wait until next summer as I'd love to borrow him again. He was one of those horses that you just click with and we both fell in love... but then I got pregnant so he had to go back to being my husbands hunter, which he adores!
Hi,
My 8 year old chestnut mare is by Farney Clover who was by Clover Hill. She is the best horse I have ever had. So genuine and laid back, really part of the family like a big dog! I pre novice her at the mo. I would never part with her and hope to breed from her one day. She is not a worrier and would try her hardest to please you. She LOVES jumping and gets me out of trouble when the need arises!
Everyone should have a Tilly!!!! See the eventing pics in my sig.
Thanks guys! My mares sire (Clover Clon) has sired a Grade A aswell, but wasnt very fertile by all accounts
Nice to hear all the positives, she has so far shown all the signs of being a bit of a star, as she has a very good temperament, although sharp she is clever
She was stubborn, moody and extremely tempremental
But she was 17hh, stunning and the most cuddly horse I have ever had, I could hunt her in a rubber snaffle, she could jump anything and, if she knew you trusted her, she gave you everything.
She was born in 1981 and sadly died at 18
I still miss her and have never found a horse to match her.
We have a coloured CH mare at work, shes a fantastic mare, absolutely huuuuge but with the kindest sweetest temperament. Love her to bits. I know by the time she retired to stud she was a grade B showjumper.
The only characteristic other than their bold, loving temperament i can think of is the ginooooooooorrrrmous ears!
x
It's still hard in Ireland to find something that DOESN'T have CH in it's background! I'd always consider it a benefit, sound in wind, limb and mind, not like some more recent fashionable sires!
This is Clover Brigade by Clover Hill out of First Brigade (thoroughbred). He stands in Southern Ireland at Peria Stud and he has sired loads of grade A show jumpers, CCI**** eventers and he jumped internationally himself, won in Dublin etc etc so there are plenty still carrying on the line!
My dad wasn't a huge Clover Hill fan. Says he shouldn't have been registered as a Draught horse because of his thoroughbred blood. He also maintained that for the amount of mares he covered, his strike rate wasn't all it's cracked up to be. I've since changed his mind!!!
So, a lot of our horses are completely free of Clover Hill breeding.
Along I came then and two of the first stallions I used were Clover Echo and Clover Flush. Was a priority to get the Clover breeding in there and un-do my Father's silliness and "pure-bred" ID snobbery!!!
There are a few people I've spoken to that maintain they wouldn't use a Clover Hill son unless they were guaranteed a filly but would go to the end of the Earth to breed from a Clover Hill daughter! Having said that ... when you check the foal registrations every year, they all have bred from Clover Hill sons!!!
***Edit***
Honourable mention to the wonderful AES stallion Billy Congo (Vechta x Animo x Clover Hill). He's my third favourite British based stallion after Peppermill and Je T'aime Flamenco. I intend to use him in the next couple of years. What a little ball of scope he is!
charliebo, i remember that article in horse and hound, it was defo about clover hill, could be researched, a friend in ireland told me that the owners would visit with their mare to be covered and queued up down the road to wait their turn and then just went home afte the deed was done.
I have a Clover Hill grandson!
Nothing fazes him at all, can jump the moon and is as bold as brass.
He does however worry when he's seperated from other horses, if he's left on his own completely. This is however only recent and I'm sure he'll snap out of it.
Complete pleasure to own and ride.
Very willing to please and very sweet natured, however a can be a little stubborn when schooling. Has never kicked or bitten any human or horse and is very playful!
Eothain - I would echo your Clover Hill sentiment that people tend to rate his daughters above all else...I know the American market especially is always desperately looking for daughters or mares of his line as Hunters.
I have had a mare who had CH breeding and she also had the lovely big ears. I don't think that picture of CH did him much justice as the ones I have seen show that he had a nice head!.
And Simsar - I am pretty sure I recog your chesnut mare!
Mine has Clover Hill and King of Diamond Blood.
VERY Quirky!!! Grey (not bay as most people suggest) and has a short coupled back! As other have said, very scopey brave jumper!