Biography
The London 2012 Olympics is just one of the ambitions for Irish showjumper Shane Breen. But whereas for most riders, taking part is a pipedream, for Shane it could be a little more. Most national titles in Ireland already bear his name, he has been a Nations Cup team member and represented his country at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen in 2006. On top of that, in 2007 he married into the Bunn family equestrian dynasty and is based at the world famous Hickstead show-ground.
I was born in Limerick, the middle of three children. My father was a bank manager for the Bank of Ireland and my uncle hired out hunters as a sideline to his farming business. I was in the saddle almost before I could walk, and when I was five my father bought me an unbroken pony which I later rode to hounds. Hunting has had a lot to do in honing my riding skills – the family have strong connections with the legendary "black and tans", the Scarteen. I still hunt with them, sometimes as amateur whip, whenever I can, usually with my father and younger brother, Trevor, also a showjumper and currently the reigning Irish national champion.
It was probably the hunting which stood me in good stead when I became only the second show jumper (to Michael Whitaker) to have won the unique Eventing Grand Prix at the Longines Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead, the competition which combines the challenges of both showjumping and eventing.
I already had a European Silver medal to my name, won on ponies at the age of 16 and with seasons as leading pony rider behind him. I have represented Ireland at European Junior and Young Rider level.
I won my first international class at Hickstead in 1994, prophetic perhaps because 13 years later I married Chloe, daughter of Hickstead founder and show jumping legend Douglas Bunn. Chloe and I run the British side of the family business, Breen Equestrian, with 50 stables at my disposal and the year-round use of the all-weather arenas.
Horses had become a family business when I began competing seriously. Now, with the Hickstead facilities literally on my doorstep, Chloe and I are busy decveloping the English side of the family business. We are building a team of world-class jumping stallions which so far include the Ryan family’s Carmena Z and Royal Concorde. I also supplement my show jumping by training other riders, and amongst my current pupils is Chloe’s niece, Lucy.
Carmena Z took me to victory as the first male winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in 2008 and Royal Concorde won the Bunn Leisure Speed Derby in the same year, smashing the course record in the process.
With these two horses in my string, plus others including World Cruise, Mullaghdrin Gold Rain and Dorada, the future looks promising and one of my ambitions – to make the top 20 in the world rankings – could be much more than a pipedream. I als aspire to compete at WEG 2010 in show-jumping and eventing!