All Posts

Not every horse arrives here through a considered breeding decision. Some arrive because somebody has to say yes when everyone else has said no. ​ Finlay came to us in January 2025 with a poor prognosis. She was weak, lethargic, and unusually quiet, with marked weight loss and muscle wasting. Ragwort poisoning had caused what her vets described as irreversible damage, her liver biomarkers were dangerously high, and a biopsy confirmed it. There was no undoing what had already

Proven production backed by elite eventing blood ​ Future Diamond Cruise is a producing Irish Sport Horse mare by Diamond Roller, out of Cruising Galway Girl, by Cruising. ​ Her maternal line brings exceptional eventing credentials. Cruising Galway Girl is a full sister to Mr Cruise Control, Andrew Nicholson’s CCI5* winner at Luhmühlen, while the wider immediate family also includes international eventing and showjumping performers. ​ But Cruise’s story is not simply about pe

Depth through the Dutch Ginia performance family Flairginia PF is a KWPN mare by Oscar, out of Liginia by Goodwill, and represents one of the most interesting maternal families within the programme. She has produced six AES-registered offspring, including Scientia youngstock Petra JDE and Venus, but it is the depth of her close maternal family that makes this line particularly compelling. Her maternal half-siblings include: Elevation PF — Medium dressage Dubcek PF — 1.10m sho

An established broodmare with serious jumping influence Finlay CMF brings a different kind of strength to the programme. She is an Irish Sport Horse mare by Cruisings Micky Finn, a stallion recorded at 1.60m showjumping, with Thoroughbred influence through Choice Limited xx and VDL Arkansas further back in the maternal pedigree. ​ Finlay has already established herself as a broodmare, producing offspring by recognised jumping sires including Baloutaire PS, Balou du Rouet, Dia

There are worse ways to spend a few days than standing in the beautiful grounds of Burghley House, surrounded by some of the best horses and riders in the world. Add glorious sport, fascinating conversations about breeding, a little shopping and the opportunity to undertake some highly important research into fermented grape products, and it's fair to say the Scientia team had a rather good time at the 2026 Defender Burghley Horse Trials. Joking aside, Burghley is one of thos

A conversation with Professor Joanne Santini on genetics, gut microbiomes, and why breeding a brilliant sport horse and a genuinely well one should never be two different projects. Scientia Sport Horses was founded on an unusual premise: that breeding a brilliant sport horse and breeding a genuinely well sport horse should be the same project, not two competing ones. Behind that premise is Joanne Santini — Professor of Microbiology, and the person asking, at every stage of th

I've spent most of my career studying things that can't be seen — the microscopic processes that decide whether a system stays healthy or starts to fail. I never expected that same lens to end up pointed at a patch of grazing in Northamptonshire, but that's exactly what happened when Finlay arrived. She came to us in poor condition, underweight and worn down, and it took time — and a fair amount of detective work — to understand why. Ragwort was part of that picture. It's a p