Horse Sport Ireland is delighted to name the newly Approved stallion Boleybawn Alvaro as Stallion of the Month for Edition 5 of the HSI Breeding Newsletter.Bred by Co Wicklows Ronan Rothwell, Boleybawn Alvaro is by Dominator 2000 Z (ZANG) out of Arina (KWPN) mare by Crown Z (ZANG).His dam, Arina, is a prolific dam of performance horses in her own right. Among her offspring so far are Boleybawn Actor (ISH) by Ars Vivendi (HOLST) who competed in the 5-Year-Old class at the 2016 FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in Lanaken, Belgium with Darragh Ryan (IRL). He has since gone on to compete at 1.45m internationally with Germanys Johanna Zander-Keil, with whom he featured as part of the third placed German team at the Young Riders Nations Cup in Dielsdorf Zurich (SUI) in 2023. The combination has also placed with at 1.50m nationally in Germany.Boleybawn Aasha (ISH) by Dignified vant Zorgvliet (BWP) is also out of Arina, and this mare has had great success for Norwegian rider Mira Olivia Hoeidal. Together they have taken Top 10 placings at 1.50m level including the Grand Prix of the CSIO3* NC EEF in Drammen (NOR) 2022, the Grand Prix of the of the CSIO3* NC EEF in Uggerhalne (DEN) 2022 and a Top 10 in the 1.55m Table A Two Phase class at the CSI5*W in Oslo (NOR). They also represented Norway at the 2021 European Young Rider Showjumping Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal in 2021 and have placings at 1.60m level.Arina is also the dam of Boleybawn Cooley (ISH) by Dignified vant Zorgvliet (BWP), who competed at 1.45m level with Charlotte Jacobs (USA), Boleybawn Alexa (ISH) by Grandorado TN who competed in the 2025 FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses with Harry Wood (GBR) as part of the Ballypatrick team. Arina is also the dam of Global Karina (ISH) by Kannan (KWPN) who competed at Mondial Du Lion, the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in 2023 and 2024 in the 6- and 7-year-old categories respectfully with Yasmin Olsson Payne (NOR).Boleybawn Alvaro himself can now add his victory in the Reitsport.ch Youngster Grand Prix at the 2026 CSIO5* in St Gallen (SUI) to his already successful international career as a young horse. Speaking with Horse Sport Ireland, Alvaros breeder Ronan Rothwell had the following to say: We decided to keep Alvaro as a stallion, as first of all we always felt that the pedigree was up to the standard to consider keeping him entire. His dam is from the mother line of Ratina Z and she has produced so many good sport horses that have competed from 1.40m right up to 1.60m level. Also her offspring have qualified for the Young Horse Championships in Dublin on 15 occasions, which I think is a remarkable achievement.Alvaro was born a beautiful type and when he was a young horse, he was, to me, the perfect specimen of a modern show jumper. His qualities: he possesses more all-around qualities than any other stallion that I know of on the circuit. From his mental attitude, his rideability, his canter, his technique, his suppleness, his carefulness, his scope, and his all-around will and want to compete and win. Hes been heavily exposed since he was a young horse, from being presented at the Horse Sport Ireland Stallion Selections as a four-year-old where he was Preliminary Approved, and later that year competed in the four-year-old championships in Dublin, placing third in the five-year-old championships at the RDS, reserve champion at the World Young Horses Championships in Lanaken, champion six-year-old at the RDS, placing fifth in the Seven-Year-Old World Championships at Lanaken, and now having just won the 7-& 8-Year-Old Championships at the five-star show in St Gallen in Switzerland.Boleybawn Alvaro presented at the Horse Sport Ireland Stallion Selections in 2022 where he passed Stage 1 and Stage 2 over the course of the two day event earning him is initial Preliminary Approved status with the Irish Sport Horse Studbook. At the inspection, the inspection panel had the following to say: Boleybawn Alvaro is a very attractive, modern sport horse. He has a very active, free walk with good use of his body. His trot is light, well balanced and covers ground. His canter shows impulsion, lightness, roundness with good balance. He is light off the floor with a good bascule and open with his haunches. He has excellent reflexes. His technique is good for his age and shows easy scope. This horse is very well produced and has superb rideability.In 2023, Irish team rider Niamh McEvoy took over the ride on Alvaro and the pair qualified for the 5-Year-Old Class at the RDS Dublin Horse Show in their first competitive outing together. They went on then to compete in both Championship qualifiers and the final without having a single pole down over the course of the week. They took 3rd place overall in the final and were named as part of the Team Ireland Equestrian Young Horse Squad who travelled to compete in Lanaken, Belgium in their first international foray together. There, they finished second overall to be Reserve Champion of the 5-Year-Old World Championship.Boleybawn Alvaro and his connections receiving his prize at the Dublin Horse ShowIn 2024, the returned to the hallowed Ballsbridge Arena in the RDS where they were yet again foot perfect all week and took the win in the 6-Year-Old Championship. They returned to Lanakens world famous Zangersheide Stud once again contest the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses where the pairing fiished second in the second of the two Championship qualifiers.As a seven-year-old in 2025, Boleybawn Alvaro again appeared at Lanaken, making it a hat-trick of Championship appearances. He jumped double clear in the first 1.40m 7-Year-Old qualifier and took an 8th place finish in the second qualifier, a 1.40m Table A Speed. This was all capped off then on Finals Day when a single pole down in the jump off earned them a 5th place finish in the 7-Year-Old Championship. Over the course of three years, and eight rounds of jumping, McEvoy and Alvaro knocked only two poles in their appearances in Lanaken. An exceptional achievement. Speaking about the stallion, Niamh McEvoy had this to say: Ive been lucky enough to ride Alvaro since he was a 5-year-old and hes always been a real favourite in my string!Alvaro has proven himself time and time again, from winning medals in Lanaken, to winning the 6-Year-Old championship in Dublin, to more recently winning the 7- & 8-year-old final at the CSIO5* show in St Gallen. He has really demonstrated that he is a horse for the highest level of the sport.He is a stallion of outstanding character and quality, and combines talent, athleticism and an exceptional temperament. Alvaro is definitely one of the most consistent horses Ive ridden and I really believe he has a huge future in the sport!Ronan Rothwell, understandably a proud breeder continued by saying:For me when I breed a mare Im always looking for the natural traits in the stallion that I match her with so I find that the traits that are maybe not so visible, the traits that are hidden under the bonnet are the most important and can be hardest to identify for a breeder. I think with Alvaro its very easy for everybody to see that his concentration in the ring and his will to leave the poles in the cups and take on his courses is exceptional. I do believe that this will be a key to him breeding some very good horses in the future.When I watch him jump his courses and I review the videos, especially in slow motion, its really special to see how easily he can bend his body around the jumps and how supple he is all the way through his body and his legs. He can just use himself the way most horses cant.Im delighted to have been the breeder of Boleybawn Alvaro and its been a joy to watch him go through all the different stages in life. Were very lucky to be able to collaborate on ownership with Greg Broderick and his career has been managed to perfection by the team at Bally Patrick since he was a five-year-old.Were very lucky in Ireland to have some exceptional producers in the country because when we have the raw material like Alvaro, they cant fulfil their true potential unless a very professional and talented approach is taken and executed.Horse Sport Ireland would like to congratulate Ronan Rothwell, Niamh McEvoy and all the team at Ballypatrick for the success of Boleybawn Alvaro thus far and we wish them every success with the stallion as he continues his career internationally.The post Stallions in Focus Boleybawn Alvaro appeared first on .