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Irish Sport horse

Country Of Origin	Ireland
History and Background	The Irish Sport Horse is of Irish origin. It is the outcome of the crossing of the Irish Draft and the Thoroughbred. While initially the market for the Irish Sport was limited to the UK, its athletic abilities have made it internationally popular. Ireland breeds great numbers of Irish Sports annually, many of which are exported in Europe and the United States.
Use Today	Competition horse, Light Agricultural Work, Pleasure horse, Riding horse
Height	15 to 17 hands (60 to 68 inches, 152 to 173 cm)
Colour	Any solid colour
Characteristics	The Irish Sport Horse receives the sense and honesty of the Irish Draft and the athleticism, speed, and endurance of the Thoroughbred. Although the Irish Draft breed standard requires horses to be "any strong solid colour", an Irish Sport Horse can be any colour as it can receive dilute or broken colour genes from its non-draft parent. In British show hunter and working hunter competition Irish Sport Horses are divided into three types: light-weight for carrying a rider up to about 70 kilograms (150 lb), middle-weight to carry a rider up to about 89 kilograms (196 lb), and heavy-weight for riders exceeding 89 kg. Carrying a rider according to this classification includes being able to participate in hunting or other strenuous riding activities. Nowadays, most Irish Horses are middle-weights, and it is uncommon to find a true heavy-weight or a Lady's horse (trained for sidesaddle, and usually a light-weight). The horse has an attractive head with a sometimes convex profile (a "Roman nose"). It has a slightly-arched and muscular neck, long, sloping shoulders, a deep but not overly broad chest, a short, compact back, and a muscular croup with powerful hindquarters. The croup is often sloping and long, a trait coming from the Irish Draft, said to improve its jumping ability. The high withers of the Thoroughbred are also evident in many cases.
Personality and Temperament	It has a good temperament, being calm, yet lively when needed, and is very tough.
Other Considerations	The Irish Sport Horse is traditionally used for all purposes, from transportation to riding, and working the land and is popular as a competition riding horse. Its natural athletic ability and exceptional jumping talents means that it excels in the show jumping arena, as well as the highest levels of eventing. The horse is also known as a fox hunting mount. it is popular with police forces in Britain and Ireland. The Irish Sport Horse Studbook has usually ranked as the leading studbook in the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses Eventing Rankings. In the last ten years it has won eight times. In the 2012 rankings the winning horse was Mr Medicott, an Irish Sport Horse gelding on 364 points. The ISH Studbook finished on 1427 points, over 100 points ahead of the second placed Hanoverian Studbook. The 2013 results were closer, with the ISH studbook winning again but only beating the second placed Hanoverian Studbook by 9 points.