What could be more perfect for the horse mad than the possibility of breeding the next superstar!?
Lissava Stud based in Cahir, County Tipperary, Ireland stand some of the most exceptional stallions and the services are available to be sent to most places in the world.
Owned and operated by two very switched on people, Joe Owens Jnr and Anne Marie O'Gorman-Owens, Lissava Stud combines standing stallions, breeding and competition and many of the stallions are regularly competed by Joe.
We have chosen three stallions to highlight but if you think a service fee might make a great Christmas present for someone special in your life make sure you check out the Lissava Stud by clicking here
The first stallion which I know many would like to see a service certificate under the tree to is the gorgeous grey Russell - don't let the plainness of his name fool you - there is nothing plain about this horse!
Russell, owned by the Hales Family, has everything!
He is strikingly handsome and Joe and Anne Marie tell us he has a fabulous temperament, being very easy to do anything with around the stables.
He has an outstanding performance record which saw him representing Great Britain at the 2008 Olympic Games as well as 14 Nations Cups, European Campionships and World Championships.
Add to this a pedigree which is royal to say the least!
To put a Russell gift voucher under the tree for someone special will cost you a great deal less than it will cost you to purchase a youngster by this great stallion!
By Corofino who is by Corrado which goes back to Cor de la Bryére, his mothers line goes back to one of the influential stallions, Landgraf and Russell is already proving to be a super sire with progeny starting to come of age now and making their own mark in the world of showjumping.
As Russell was concentrating on his own jumping career there are only roughly 25 of his progeny on the ground with the oldest being Unlimited, a 7 year old who was with European based Australian rider, James Patterson Robinson and placed extremely well as a 6 year old before being sold to Canada
Ringfort Cruise is the next stallion many would be happy to have in the pedigree of their new foal! This handsome grey stallion has some of the best bloodlines in the world combining the strength and easy scope of european bred horses with the brains and trainability of the world famous Irish bred horses.
Sired by one of the most famous of Irish jumping stallions, Cruising who has sired many International showjumpers his mother is also famous by way of Nimmerdor who has sired many of the top jumpers in the world.
Ringfort Cruise competed under the saddle of Captain David O'Brien of the Irish Army School of Equitation and they competed successfully on 5 Nations Cup teams for Ireland before retiring to stud in 2009.
Ringfort Cruise covered just two mares as a 3 year old and one of these babies was sold to America where he is very successfully three day eventing.
Again Anne Marie and Joe cannot say enough about this stallions temperament and fully support breeding with this stallion due to the combination of the best of Dutch and Irish bloodlines giving a perfect balance to produce a horse of quality and talent.
Photos Ringfort Cruise and Eurocommerce Pittsburg supplied by Lissava Stud
The third stallion we bring you comes from the famous Dutch stables of Eurocommerce - Eurocommerce Pittsburg.
The name Gerco Schroder is synonymous with the Eurocommerce stable of exceptional stallions where each stallion is named for a Eurcommerce Hotel around the world and as exceptional as the hotels are so are the stallions!
The handsome bay Pittsburg comes with an impeccable pedigree which would be a bonus in any breeding program - combining Nimmerdor and Voltaire you really couldn't get too much better.
Sired by Heartbreaker, Pittsburg is out of the Concorde mare, Lontana this 12 year old stallion has competed very successfully in the 1.60m Grand Prix's around Europe.
His first crop of foals hit Irish soil this year and are showing great strength and correctness and nobody has any doubt that they will be making their names in the international rings in time.
Again a stallion with everything needed to make him a popular sire - he has talent, technique, scope and most importantly the temperament to be a top class performance horse, combined with exceptional good looks!
No question that a gift voucher with this stallions name on it, under the tree will be bring great excitement to the recipient - so get your act together and contact Anne Marie to organise a very special gift for the horse person in your life this Christmas!
The efficient, competitive and helpful Anne Marie and Joe are obviously doing something right in Tipperary as they continue to add world class stallions to their stables - people who own top international stallions don't give them to "just anybody" and it is an enormous coup for Ireland to have these lads on the fertile Irish soil.
To contact Lissava Stud click here to organise the "best gift" for Christmas 2009
