there
was a measure of consternation in the Irish Draught world in the spring
of 1997 when it was learned that a son of Glidawn Diamond which had scored
the highest conformation marks in the inspections of that year had been
sold to the United States. Renamed O'Leary's Irish Diamond this good young
sort was bought by Jim and Karen Leary during a visit to Bill and Anna
Kennedy the previous October.
Commenting
on the sale of this grandson of King of Diamonds, Jim Leary said that they
convinced the Kennedys that good horses were needed everywhere. "It was
a great opportunity to bring one of the world's best jumping lines to America.
When you look at the King of Diamonds success it is hard to be at if not
impossible."
In
these days when performance testing is the buzz word for the horse industry,
it is perhaps well to reflect that horsemen before performance testing
was pushed by the authorities were taking out these stallions and jumping
them in open competition. Many Irish Draught breeders are very much concerned
at the direction colt approvals have taken.
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