In the horse world, O'Leary's Irish Diamond is a superstar stud.

And when you're the No. 1 Irish Draught stud in North America, fans will find you no matter where you live.

Melissa Cason-Kinney of Bigfork owns the famous stud, which has captured numerous dressage, hunter, jumper championships. Along the way, the stud has sired well over 100 offspring, each one a distinguished gray like its father. She can vouch for the horse's popularity.

Those smitten with O'Leary's Irish Diamond track her down, hoping to glean tidbits about the horse's competition triumphs or latest offspring.

"The weirdest thing is getting phone calls," she said. "It's hard to understand them with their Irish brogue. Usually, they just want to know how he's doing."

And who can blame them? Powerfully built with a proud carriage and large intelligent eyes, this Irish Draught stallion leaps tall fences in a single bound with horse trainer Jenny Carbonari-Ford on board.

"He really is the number one Irish Draught stud in North America," Cason-Kinney said.

St. Patrick's Day is the perfect time for O'Leary's Irish Diamond to make a Flathead debut, she said. He currently resides at Highline Equine Services off Helena Flats Road.

"You won't find anything more Irish in this valley," she said. "He's very intense and he loves to work."

WHILE THE breed is unfamiliar to many in America, the Irish consider these horses their national breed. A look at the Irish Draught's history reveals multiple uses ranging from artillery horses on battlefields to all-around farm, hunting and family transportation horses.

Their numbers diminished severely due to war, famine and then, the ultimate threat, tractors. Nearly extinct by 1976, a group of breeders formed what became the Irish Horse Board to bring them back from the brink.

Luckily, the popularity of Irish hunters, created from draughts crossed with thoroughbreds or warmbloods, helped saved the breed. Cason-Kinney said this dream match blends speed and endurance for top-notch sporting horses.

"You get a thinner horse with stamina - not so heavy and drafty," she said.

Irish Horse Board members made certain the draughts stayed true by registering only those meeting strict breed standards.

Since his birth on Jan. 1, 1994 in Ireland, O'Leary's Irish Diamond has wowed the famously persnickety horse board with his solid stature. The stud received the highest scores of the stallions in his first inspection phase in Ireland in 1997.

After arriving in America shortly after that first inspection, the stallion made history again when the Irish Horse Board traveled here for the first time ever to complete the performance phase of O'Leary's Irish Diamond's inspection.

He passed with flying colors, registering the highest scores ever given to an Irish Draught stallion.

"It was kind of a big deal," Cason-Kinney said. "Only a few get approved. European standards are much stricter than American."

A towering presence at 16.2 hands, O'Leary's Irish Diamond occupies a roomy, stout stall at Highline Equine alongside his progeny. No one would accuse this horse of loving the barn, as he urgently banged the stall door with his hoof in a plea to his owner to saddle up.

Cason-Kinney describes her stud's personality as a reflection of his previous Irish-American owner, Jim O'Leary.

"Jim is sort of the epitome of an Irishman - kind of gruff and full of it," she said with a smile. "Irish horses have the same personality."

This personality trait flows through to the stud's youngsters, just like the color gene that transforms his multicolored foals back to basic gray by age 2.

According to Cason-Kinney, gruffness becomes a top athlete horse like her Irish.

"It takes a certain personality to compete at that level," she said. "A horse has to reach within and have the grit to be able to do it."

From the moment the stallion sees the first jump, Cason-Kinney said she feels every bone quiver as he fires up for competition. Whether jumping, hunting or strutting in dressage, O'Leary's Irish Diamond proves a crowd-pleaser.

"He absolutely loves to jump," she said.

That's why people travel to shows to see this grandson of the iconic Irish Draught stallion King of Diamonds, a stud once ranked the seventh best producer of show jumpers in the world. Another relative, his uncle Custom Made, took gold for America as David O'Connor's eventing mount during the 2000 Olympics.

"He really is Irish Draught royalty," Cason-Kinney said.

As such, O'Leary's Irish Diamond commands a stud fee of about $1,400. Cason-Kinney said the income helps support Kinson Stud, a business specializing in quality sport-horse studs.

She and her husband Skip Kinney live on a ranch with a horse population varying from 16 to 18, just off Montana 83 on the Swan River. They formed Kinson Stud in 2006, the same year that they acquired O'Leary's Irish Diamond.

CASON-KINNEY said the adventure started with exploring horse breeds on the Internet.

"I fell in love with Irish Draught horses," she said.

The hook-up with this particular Irish celebrity happened by coincidence.

When she took her daughter, Shelby, to Highline Equine for riding lessons, Carbonari-Ford showed her a horse sired by O'Leary's Irish Diamond. She was amazed to hear the father's name.

"That's the horse I want to buy," she recalled saying.

But more astounding, the stallion's ailing owner had just made arrangements to ship his prized horse to Carbonari-Ford to train and show for a few years and perhaps sell "to someone special."

Cason-Kinney, 41, fit the bill, as a horse rider and horse lover since she was 11. Growing up in Florida the daughter of an attorney/rancher, she pestered her parents until they gave in and paid for jumping lessons.

"I was hooked," she said with a laugh. "I even missed the prom for a horse show."

Owning and riding O'Leary's Irish Diamond was a dream come true. He was the perfect horse to mend the heartbreak she and her husband endured in 2004 when their prized Friesian stallion, Alger, died without warning.

Cason-Kinney knew they had a special horse, but she didn't realize how beloved he was until the e-mails arrived via their Web site, Kinsonstud.com and the phone calls started coming from Ireland.

"He has an amazing following," she said.

People interested in more information may contact Cason-Kinney at (406) 261-7946.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com