moyglare stud – Building
Success from Tradition.
moyglare stud – The Vision
moyglare is one of the few European private studs where the horses are bred for a single owner and race for the same owner. moyglare is family owned by the Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist Eva Maria Bucher-Haefner. She likes to call moyglare a “boutique stud”, small but beautiful, because the focus is on the love of horses and racing, not on the commercial orientation that is typical of many big, industrialised thoroughbred horse-breeding operations.
moyglare, the family-owned “boutique stud”
moyglare is a firm believer that the strength in the pedigree comes from the quality of the broodmares, and that the ultimate test for any racehorse is the racecourse competition. That is why moyglare races all the filies foaled on the stud. As the farm does not breed its horses primarily for sales at auctions, moyglare does not own any stallions but has shares in some stallions. Instead, it keeps around forty broodmares. To keep numbers under control, moyglare sometimes sells a smaller number of colt foals, racehorses and broodmares at public auctions in Ireland, England and America.
moyglare stud – The History
Walter Haefner was a successful Swiss entrepreneur in the automobile sector. He was over 40 years old when he mounted a horse for the first time in his life. He quickly became fascinated by thoroughbreds and horse racing. In 1963, Haefner even won the Fegentri European amateur championship at the age of 53 and was crowned as Europe’s best gentleman rider.
A year earlier, Walter Haefner had acquired a green corner in Ireland and named it moyglare stud. It was originally developed by its owner as a a commercial breeding-to-sell stud. This continued until 1980 when Haefner decided that he would race all his horses in the future, with the primary aim of breeding and racing to compete at the highest level on the world stage.
moyglare founder Walter Haefner with B. Thoughtful, a multiple stakes winner in California
Haefner thrived on top-class international competition, and enthusiastically supported his horses as they travelled outside Ireland to run. The black, red and white colours scored victories across the world. To date, moyglare horses have won races on five continents, including around thirty victories in Group 1 races, the highest level in thoroughbred racing.
Walter Haefner’s frequent comment on his stud was “let the horses do the talking”. And they did.
moyglare stud – Today’s Ownership
Eva-Maria Bucher-Haefner took over the ownership and management of moyglare Stud from her father and stud founder Walter Haefner in 2008. She is assisted by her children, Chiara and Mischa Bucher. Eva Bucher-Haefner continued the company’s proven tradition. A few more good mares were purchased and management changed as a result of retirements, but on the whole, the horses are still raised in the same way – good broodmares, good grassland and big fields with plenty of space. And owners who are passionate about breeding and fascinated by racing. Eva Bucher-Haefner was among the driving forces behind the redevelopment of Curragh Racecourse and its world-renowned training grounds, covering 1,500 acres and home to dozens of trainers and over 800 racehorses.
Eva-Maria Bucher Haefner, Swiss entrepreneur and owner of moyglare stud
moyglare stud – The Farm
In 1962, Walter Haefner acquired moyglare stud and named it after the local area. The stud covers 500 tree-lined acres near the town of Maynooth on the county border between Kildare and Meath. The stud is private. Visitors are not encouraged, and when admitted are subject to restrictions regarding social media and photographs. This is for both horse and human safety and security, and strict sanitary protocols are followed.