• Horse + Hound Magazine 11th March 2004

Flying without Wings

He's lead singer with one of the world's biggest and most successful boy bands but Shane Filan has a secret passion - horses. Ruth Loney takes a tour of his Irish show jumping yard.

Shane Filan has the kind of life story that would make perfect fodder for a blockbuster film. The 24-year-old from Sligo, who queued to see his heroes - the Backstreet Boys - in Dublin only a few years ago, is now a pop millionaire with the boy band Westlife. The chart-topping group has had 13 number one hits, and 2004 looks especially busy, with an 80-concert world tour kicking off in Belfast's Odyssey Arena this month. Coupled with the fact that Shane recently wed his childhood sweetheart, Gillian Walsh, what leisure time he has is extremely precious. But the good-looking singer, who first made his name as Oliver in Sligo school musicals, has a life away from touring, singing and recording.

Shane and his older brother Liam run a busy show jumping yard on the outskirts of Sligo. This year Shane will keep a careful watch on the Irish grand prix circuit because his eight-year-old stallion, Carlton Clover, whom he part-owns with Liam and Gillian, makes his outdoor debut in April at Cavan. In addition the Filan's are moving into the specialised breeding of sport horses to preserve old Irish pedigrees and jumping lines. The family has its own broodmare band and stallions, while Shane and Liam's mother, Mae, follows her own horse, Carlton Diamond, on the competition circuit.

"We've been in ponies and horses for a lifetime," says Shane as he relaxes by the log stove in his mother's home, enjoying a cup of coffee and one of Mae's scones.

"Mum and Dad owned the Carlton Cafe in Sligo for many years, and we had out stables in town, just a street away from the main street. Now, all out horses are prefixed by 'Carlton'. We couldn't wait to get home from school and go out on the ponies. The whole family rode - hunting and jumping and enjoying ourselves. We'd ride the ponies up the street and out of town each day; we were knows as the 'urban cowboys'. Saddles or no saddles, we just jumped on and rode away. I started competing in show jumping in 13.2hh and 14.2hh classes, then music sort of took over and the ponies were put on hold."
Liam adds:" Shane won his first trophy in the tiny tots class at Sligo show when he was around four, with dad leading him".
"He always was a sport," chips in Mae, "Win or lose, he didn't mind."

All seven of the Filan children - Finbar, Peter, Yvonne, Liam, Denise, Mairead and the youngest, Shane - were steeped in equestrianism. Today, their large yard is a hive of activity, with parents Peter and Mae actively involved. The family has around 70 horses and ponies, ranging from 128cm ponies to 17.2hh horses of every make and shape.
"My pony Carlton Flight [now a 148cm grand prix jumper], is 12 years old," says Shane. "I rode him in my teens and then Michael Kearins took over. I couldn't bear to sell Flight and last year he went to Martin Duffy to compete. Flight's brilliant and has won in Europe. I've been loathe to sell him, but I think this year I will."
Liam nods his head in agreement: "It would be a waste to have a grand prix pony standing at home doing nothing, so we've finally talked Shane into parting with him."

Out in the yard, Shane heads straight for the bay pony's stable and gives him a huge, affectionate pat.
"He's a fantastic pony and has been so competitive. I don't know how many points he has by now - maybe 700, "he says. Shane then moves to the pure-bred Irish Draught stallion Carlton Hill, his favourite of the jumpers.
"This is a real son of Clover Hill - I think he looks so much like his father. He's a great stamp of a horse. He's out of a Pride Of Toames mare and has competed in the Millstreed 1.30m final." Liam jumps all the horses. Two years ago, he qualified another stallion, Carlton Clover, for the Foxhunter final at the Royal Highland Show as well as the Boomerang final in Millstreet and Royal Dublin's six-year-old championship.

Breeding wise, the brothers are 'mainly into Irish pedigrees" although, as Shane explains, Anglo Arabs also hold an interest. Struck by the strong showing of Anglo Arabs in endurance and eventing at the Punchestown European Championships last September, the brothers bought an Irish Horse Board-approved Anglo Arab stallion, Linwood Sweet Excalibur.
"He has around 60 offspring in Arab racing and we felt that his type really suits the Irish mare," explains Liam. "We plan to use him this year on our own mares."
Shane adds: "I don't think we'll venture into European pedigrees just yet - we'll stick with Irish-bred horses and the bloodlines we know."

As you would expect, both brothers are supporters of Irish show jumping teams, with Liam serving o the Show Jumping Association of Ireland finance committee. Despite Shane's Westlife commitments, he hopes to spend several days at the Athens Olympics supporting the team. He also plans to visit Royal Dublin and Millstreet.
"Carlton Diamond [a son of Diamond Lad] won the 1.30m qualifier from 177 horses in Millstreet last summer, so I really want to see him there, " he says. "Now with Athens also on the cards, it will be hectic, but I'm determined to attend this year's Aga Khan [the Irish Nations Cup round]."

Shane is fortunate that Sligo is a town where he is accepted for himself. "No one takes any notice - we can live in a relaxed atmosphere. My sister Mairead and I have opened two shops - one is Sligo and another in Galway, and life's hectic, expecially after launching a new single and promoting it on tour. I love unwinding and coming into the yard on my few days off and staying here for around four hours, but I
won't be riding during the concert tour because I don't think anyone would be amused if I fell off and broke a leg. The best thing is being with the horses and going to shows. Seeing Liam do well is great and also being able to buy and sell a few horses is vey important to us. We're always on the phone to each other and talking horses all the time." Shane has bought around 20 horses from Goresbridge Sales in recent years - talking to Liam by mobile from wherever he is in the world.

"We're getting more and more into breeding. There are plenty of horses in stock and we're expanding our programme by building a new broodmare and young stock barn and the addition of the Filan Brothers.com website, which will be up and running soon."
The brothers have just erected a six-horse walker and will have 20 mares to cover this year - some with their own stallions. Shane explains: "Many of the mares are from traditional Irish bloodlines such as Balllinvella, Diamond Lad and Flagmount Diamond. We
also have a Creative Plan mare, a full-sister to McDougal, who has been winning in America with Rich Fellers. Gillian and I are really getting into the horse breeding end and looking forward to bringing on young stock. Gillian has a horse called Carlton Sylvester and we hope to have her riding again this year and back into the saddle more seriously after that." Liam plans to compete the Filan team of horses on the Irish grand prix circuit and will travel to Wales and the West this year as part of a two-week tour in Britain.

So have Shane and Liam any further ambitions left for their equine pursuits? "Yes definitely," they say in unison. Shane reveals:" We love point-to-points and had point-to-pointers years ago. Liam really enjoyed riding in races and we have land close by which has rolling hills for gallops and slow hills for building the muscles. I think that's something else we could get involved in." Liam is rightly proud of his famous brother:" Shane's a down-to-earth person for the world status he now has; he's a keen sportsman and loves horses and dealing. He's very close to home - we all look out for each other and enjoy horses as a family."

Meanwhile, the Filan brothers' main hope for Irish equestrianism is for Ireland to bring home a medal from Athens and that their team will be 'Flying Without Wings'.

The unassuming Mae Filan - Shane's mother - is the reason that Shane was first discovered by pop guru Louis Walsh.

"Mum saw me watching Boyzone and the Backstreet Boys on television" says Shane. "She knew how badly I wanted
to sing, so she kept making secret phone calls to Louis Walsh to ask him for an audition. I knew nothing about the fact we had been trying to get through to him for ages with no success - and then she finally did it."

Shane had been singing with fellow Westlife members, Kian and Mark, in their own band, IOU, in Sligo. When Louis met them, he decided that they had the ingredients for success and he and Shane held and audition in Dublin at which some 500 boys showed up.

"We found Nicky and Bryan from that audition and Westlife was born," says Shane, wearing his trademark huge smile.

"Louis got us a job as support band to the Backstreet Boys and things just snowballed from there. It's a dream story and maybe someday we will consider making it into a film."

His fellow band members understand Shane's passion for horses.

"Mark's into show jumping, as is his dad, and we've had all the boys sitting on horses here for a photo shoot," says Shane.