About Us

Having celebrated its half century in 2018, the family run Goresbridge Horse Sales in Co Kilkenny continues to hold its place as Ireland’s biggest and most successful sport and leisure horse auction. Ideally situated in the heart of Ireland’s horse breeding country, the purpose-built complex stages seven performance sales throughout the year, among which is the flagship six-day sale in September. This must attend fixture usually offers in excess of a thousand horses from the age of three and is probably the largest of its genre in Europe.

Further dates include the prestigious Go For Gold sale of select event horses in November, as well as the successful select sale of show jumpers and event horses which is held at the Goresbridge complex during the first week in October. In addition to the above, the bench mark October sale of brood mares and breeding stock is a meeting place for all breeders and pin hookers, and usually runs over three days.

The list of successful horses that have passed through the Goresbridge sale ring is both varied and extensive. Olympic medallists from the world of eventing and show jumping have appeared in number, while firmly showcasing Goresbridge as a prominent force in racing circles, the locally trained chaser Hewick claimed the prestigious King George V chase at Kempton over Christmas.

These and many, many other famous horses have contributed to the enduring success of Goresbridge which, on the recent retirement of Martin and Mary Frances Donohoe, is now in the capable hands of Martin’s brother Ed, together with his wife Siobhan and extended family.   

On the back of a record trading year in 2022, it was rewarding for all to see the

buoyancy maintained in 2023. Demand was solid throughout the year and encouragingly encompassed the entire spectrum of horses on offer and included every age group. The online bidding platform added to the momentum, as once again remote buyers proved to be a very influential force. As a result, both breeders and producers were well rewarded, while we welcomed an ever-increasing number of customers from all corners of the globe.

As always, the Donohoe family and staff will assure you of a warm welcome, a professional service and will be happy to assist you in any way

Not everyone is looking for a superstar, but for those who are – our world class graduates enjoyed another great season. Both the event horses and the show jumpers flew the flag in style, with Vanir Kamira and Piggy March adding the prestigious Burghley CCI5* title to their Badminton victory of 2019. Vanir Kamira is now one of only a handful of horses to have racked up in excess of 2000 points on the British eventing tables, while from the same stable, another Goresbridge graduate to excel is the reigning European individual silver medallist Brookfield Innocent.

Heading the list of jumpers the Nations Cup jumper Castlefield Vegas is successfully competing at CSIO5* level with new rider Sergio Nieto Del Rio, while in a major coup for Goresbridge, no less six graduates lined up for the world young horse event championships in Le Lion d‘Angers, and a further two took part in the show jumping equivalent at Lanaken .  

Among those standing out in 2022 are:

  • VANIR KAMIRA (Piggy French) – WINNER OF BURGHLEY CCI5* 2022 and BADMINTON CCI5* in 2019.
  • BROOKFIELD INNOCENT (Piggy French) European silver individual medalist and team gold Avenches in 2021. winner Blenheim CCI4* 2019
  • COOLEY LANDS represented Australia at the World Equestrian Games 2018.
  • COOLEY SRS placed third at Badminton 2018
  • CASTLEFIELD VEGAS (Sergio Nieto Del Rio) Nations Cup and 1.60m show jumper.
  • KILCANDRA OCEAN REWARD (Michael Jung) Geram squad Nations Cup member Aachen.
  • ALFIES CLOVER (Richard Jones) placed 7th Burghley 2022
  • RINGWOOD SKY BOY (Tim Price) Winner Burghley 2018 and top twenty Badminton 2022
  • A TOUCH IMPERIOUS (Harriet Nuttall) Runner up in the Hickstead Jumping Derby 2019 was a member of the British Nations Cup squad at Dublin, and a major winner on the premier circuit.
  • QUALITY OLD JOKER (Harry Whall) Winner puissance Liverpool CSIO4* 2019 and well placed on the premier CSIO5*) circuit.
  • NOVEMBER NIGHT (Ciaran Glynn) Represented Ireland at the European championships 2019, top twenty Badminton 2019
  • DEEP POCKETS (Kate Derwin) Winner of the young riders finals at Opglabbeek (Belgium) and runner up in the U25 Grand Prix des Espoir (Geneva).