By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Kacy Brown
In February 2017, Declan “Deckie” Egan boarded a plane in Dublin, Ireland, with just one suitcase, a few pairs of breeches and a plan to try to make a go of it in America. Once he touched down at Orlando International Airport, Deckie headed to Ocala, Florida, where he joined Eamonn Hughes’ operation. “The plan was to stay for the winter circuit and see what happened. I stayed with Eamonn for six years prior to opening my own Birchgrove Sporthorses in January 2023,” Deckie said.
Deckie has done more than “just make a go of it” since stepping off that plane. He’s planted roots, started a family, started a business and made a name for himself here in the States.
Irish Roots
Growing up in Ballinasloe, Ireland, Deckie was interested in horses at an early age. “I suppose it all began by watching my uncles Edward and Jack Doyle and wanting to do it, too. When I was 5 years old, I begged my mother to let me take lessons at Creagh Equestrian Center with Damien Carey,” Deckie said. “She signed me up for lessons and that was the start of everything.”
Living the childhood dream of many equestrians, Deckie had ponies at home growing up. “It was once I progressed from ponies to horses that I spent most of my time riding over at Edward’s barn,” he said.
From the start, jumpers had Deckie’s heart. “I love that competing in the jumpers is very black and white, there is no difference in opinion about who’s the best. It just comes down to the clock and faults. If you can execute what you need to do, you’re rewarded for it,” Deckie said.
On Fridays after school, Deckie had one thing on his mind: getting to the barn as quickly as possible. “Every week I would get the bus to Kildare so I could go to horse shows with Edward and Jack. We would spend the weekend riding and going to the horse shows and watching them compete in the jumpers,” he said.
As much as Deckie’s parents encouraged him to explore other opportunities outside of horses, Deckie couldn’t be deterred from following his passion. “My entire family encouraged me to go to college, but all I ever wanted to do was horses. There was never anything else for me,” he said.
With a strong horse scene in Ireland, Deckie had plenty of opportunities to ride and compete at all levels. After finishing school at 17, Deckie gave himself a year to try out being a professional horseman. He began his professional career working alongside his uncle, Edward. “I worked with Edward for a year and then I moved to Bourns Sport Horses, where I ended up working for seven years. Richard and Deidre Bourns took me on as a young rider and we had success from young horses all the way to the Grand Prix,” he said.
While working for Bourns Sport Horses, Deckie got his first taste of winter in Florida. “I was able to travel to Wellington a few times to work with Andrew, Richard and Deidre’s son. He introduced me to the American market,” Deckie said.
Coming to America
After a successful partnership with Bourns Sport Horses, Deckie decided to make the move to the United States in 2017. “I had always been intrigued to see what it was really like to work here versus Ireland or Europe. I wanted to come over and get the American experience at least for a winter, so if I ended up going back to Ireland, I would know what American customers were looking for when they came to me searching for horses,” Deckie said.
One difference Deckie notes between the American way of doing business compared to Ireland is that it’s more of a client-based market here. “In Ireland, you’re producing horses for professionals to buy for customers rather than here where you produce horses that go directly to the customers,” he said.
Thanks to his uncle Edward, Deckie had a connection to get that firsthand American experience he wanted. “My uncle Edward and Eamonn Hughes are very good friends. Edward helped organize it so I could come over to the States to work for Eamonn to finish out the circuit,” he said. That winter opportunity turned into Deckie working with Eamonn at his Drumnacross Farm locations in Florida and New York, as well as at competitions up and down the East Coast.
Deckie has had the opportunity to produce and develop several horses since arriving in the United States. Two horses who really impacted Deckie’s time with Eamonn were Quadrivio and Federal Justice Chavanais. “Quadrivio was my first horse in the U.S. to jump in the big Grand Prix. He has the biggest heart and gives 100% every time he goes into the ring. He’s the king of the barn and knows it,” Deckie said.
Federal Justice Chavanais was sent to Deckie as a 1.30m sales horse. “We had a great partnership and ended up with multiple top placings in the Grand Prix. We competed in the $500,000 Grand Prix in Ocala, Pennsylvania National and the five-star in Saugerties,” he said.
The show circuit in the U.S. has proven to be a success for Deckie both in and out of the show ring. It was during his first winter circuit in Ocala that Deckie met his now wife, Mackenzie. A year after meeting, they began dating, during his second year in Ocala. “After that circuit, I had the opportunity to go work the New York circuit for my job and that’s where Deckie was headed for the summer, so we were able to continue seeing each other,” Mackenzie said. “We essentially moved in with each other when we went to New York and that was that.”
Mackenzie and Deckie got married in 2021, and welcomed their daughter, Willa, to the family in 2023.
Birchgrove Sporthorses
Deckie started off 2023 by opening his Birchgrove Sporthorses, based in Ocala, Florida. “I had a lot of success with Eamonn over the years but as my customer base grew, Mackenzie and I felt like it was a good time to go off on our own. I chose the name Birchgrove Sporthorses because Birchgrove is the name of my family’s house back in Ireland,” he said.
The name isn’t Birchgrove’s only tie to Ireland. Edward is still an integral part of Deckie’s equestrian pursuits. “Edward’s been there from the start and still supports and trains me today. I send him videos of my rounds during the week and he gives me advice on what I should do with the horse for the coming week. He’s very much involved behind the scenes, owns a couple of horses here with me and is my main source of horses in Europe,” Deckie said.
Birchgrove focuses on horse and rider development. “We have a string of sales horses ranging from 1.0m packers to Grand Prix horses, a few young horses here to further their development and some of our own Grand Prix horses. We also have customers competing in everything from 0.90m Amateur Jumpers up to the 1.35m Amateurs,” Deckie said.
Deckie truly enjoys producing young horses. “It gives you great satisfaction to start with a blank slate and then see tangible results from your hard work. I have one horse that I got last year that was doing the 1.15m; she recently jumped her first Grand Prix. Sure, there were some green mistakes, but it’s so rewarding to watch her progress through the ranks,” he said.
Through working with the young horses, Deckie is reminded daily that each horse is different. “One shoe doesn’t fit every horse, so you need to be able to redirect your plan and adapt based on the horse. Some learn quicker than others and some need more time to figure it out,” he said. “Developing these young horses definitely gives me a level of appreciation when I get an older horse in that has a good foundation.”
It’s that thrill of creating success that keeps Deckie going through the early mornings and late nights of running Birchgrove. It also helps that Mackenzie is his number one cheerleader. “It’s exciting seeing Deckie run his own operation. In previous jobs, Deckie never was simply a rider; he always helped with the farm duties and other tasks that needed to be done, so that hasn’t changed much now that he has Birchgrove,” Mackenzie said. “To see him put all the hours in for a business that’s in his name is really special.”
Now that Deckie has Birchgrove, Mackenzie does a lot of “behind the scenes” work, including billing, show entries and ordering supplies and equipment. One of her favorite parts of being part of the Birchgrove Team is being able to be more vocal in supporting Deckie in everything he does. “I’ve always supported him, but from a distance since he was working for others and I didn’t want to overstep. Now, it’s exciting for me to be able to be more hands-on at Birchgrove and learn from him,” she said. “Watching everything Deckie has accomplished from arriving here in 2017 with one suitcase to having a barn full of horses under his name is something I will always be proud of!”
With the support of Mackenzie, owners and clients, the future is looking bright for Deckie and Birchgrove Sporthorses. “I hope we can continue to grow, acquire more clients and produce a string of horses that can jump in the higher classes,” Deckie said. “We pride ourselves on matching the right person with the right horse and conducting a good, honest business.”
For more information, follow Deckie on Instagram @birchgrove_sporthorses and on Facebook at Birchgrove Sporthorses
Photos by Kacy Brown, kacybrownphotography.com
