Big attendance at Berney saddles launch
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| Pictured at the Berneys saddles launch are (clockwide from top left) Sophie Dalton, Horse Sport Ireland; Melanie Young, U/25 squad member; Sally Corscadden, Manager of the Young Riders squad; Tom Berney, Berney Bros; Nessa Briody, Junior Team; and Cathal Daniels, Junior Team. Damian McDonald of Horse Sport Ireland. Paralympic dressage athletes Helen Kearney and Kate Kerr-Horan. Jamie Berney and Tom Berney Snr. |
There's usually at least one elemental truth in any conversation, and at the launch of a new range of saddles by Berney Bros in Kilcullen, the foregoing from Tom Berney Snr was it, writes Brian Byrne. From all the great history of five generations of the most iconic equestrian service in the country, all the wonderful expertise built up since 1880 by the Berney family and their team, that piece of distilled wisdom is relevant not just to the Berney Bros business and the equine industry that supports it, but to any other indigenous enterprise in Ireland.
It can be further refined. Do it well, do it better, do it best.
The essential reason for last Wednesday's launch were the three new Grand Prix saddles being shown to customers and horse industry leaders, designed for international, Olympic and dressage competitions. But it was also something of a celebration of survival, and how being willing to learn, adapt, and change is one of the foundations of surviving in an ever changing business world. "We have a billhead from my grandfather's time, it describes him as Thomas Berney, Racing, Hunting and Military Saddler ... and there's no phone number," Tom Berney Snr noted. "Last night we got an order on the internet from New York, from a complete stranger, for our Grand Prix International saddle. We didn't know her, but she had heard of us."
Last year Berney Bros produced 1,200 saddles, 'bales of leather going in the back door of the workshop, and coming out as finished saddles through the front door'. That's a lot of work, all of it hand-crafted, from the annual throughput of only decades ago of numbers in simple double figures. Tom Berney Snr outlined some of the pivotal points over those years and generations, many of them tough ones. "My father went through the difficult years that had two world wars, and the Economic War, but with hard work and the support of the riding people of the country, the business survived. Then came the 50s and Ireland started moving, sending equestrian teams abroad to compete. And those early international riders were very supportive of our work and service."
He mentioned in particular the great show-jumper Seamus Hayes, who brought home a saddle he had won at a prize in a puissance in Aachen in Germany. "We marked the size of the biggest fence there, over seven feet, and we quoted him for years afterwards." Seamus brought in the prize saddle, and the Berney brothers Tom and Jim studied it, and on commission from the owner, designed their own version. "It was a turning point. Now instead of making flat hunting and racing saddles, we had one with a deep seat, side rolls, one that put the rider over the horse's centre of balance. It all became so much more technical."
Many other international riders helped similarly, including John Watson who brought in a dressage saddle he had acquired in Austria. Gisela Holstein sketched out a jump saddle she wanted. Every time, the Berneys team studied what was being developed elsewhere, producing their own versions eventually, often superior. But there was also 'phenomenal' support and feedback input from the racing fraternity, in particular the Oxx and Mullins families, Tom recalled. "We're deeply grateful to all of them."
No more than any business, the recent recession hit the racing industry hard, and a few years ago the principals of Berney Bros sat down to see how the enterprise might best survive. "We decided that we had to make sure that every top Irish rider used an Irish saddle, preferably a Berneys saddle," says Tom Berney Jnr, who outlined the technology and development of the new range of Grand Prix saddles at last week's launch. "But they wouldn't use them just because they're Irish, they would have to be better than anything else out there."
Using new technologies, new materials, and with a strong input from some of Ireland's leading riders, the Berney Bros team came up with a range of completely new saddles that were half the weight of current competition versions. In the pilot phase for some three years, they're now ready for general sale. Leading Irish eventing rider Joseph Murphy provided particularly important feedback and advice through this time, the Berney family paid special thanks to him last week. "We're led by our customers," Tom Berney Jnr emphasised. "It's their competitiveness and attention to detail that drives us on to try and make a better product, better for the horse and better for the rider."
Also present on the night was Damian McDonald, Chief Executive of Horse Sport Ireland, who commended Berney Bros for their sponsorship of Team Ireland Equestrian. He said said there was no more iconic Irish brand that the Team could be associated with, one that was known all over the world. "What we're looking for in Team Ireland Equestrian is to get a little better every year, and we hope that with Berney Bros new competition saddles we can get the marginal gain we need by using the best saddles in the world."
Members of the Team Ireland Equestrian squad management and riders were also in attendance, including Melanie Young, U/25 squad member; Sally Corscadden, Manager of the Young Riders squad; Nessa Briody, Junior Team; Cathal Daniels, Junior Team, along with paralympic dressage athletes Helen Kearney and Kate Kerr-Horan, both of whom represented Ireland at the World Equestrian Games in August.
The event included a question and answer session with Joseph Murphy, Melanie Young, Cathal Daniels and Tom Berney Jr. Tom concluded things with an emotional 'thank you' to the staff who worked with his family, some of whose grandfathers had worked with his own grandfather. "The relationship with our team is very strong, and being able to come to work here every day means that I'm one of the luckiest men in Ireland."
