A showjumping stallion has been cloned in Ireland. This is the first known case in the country.

Two cloned foals were born at Hartwell Stud in Co Kildare in 2012 after DNA was taken from champion showjumper Cruising.

The retired grey died last year at Hartwell Stud which did not reveal details of the clones until now.

The cloned stallions will be the first to take up duties in Ireland when they begin work at the stud later this year.

Cloning of showjumping and event horses has been taking place in Europe since 2003.

However, there is a worldwide ban on the cloning of racehorses.

According to the Irish Field newspaper, Hartwell Stud said that tissue samples were taken from Cruising's neck in 2011 when the horse was aged 26.

The DNA from these cells was then inserted into an empty egg, donated by a mare, and this material was then developed to become embryos.

These embryos were transferred into mares and two foals were born in 2012.

These horses, now fully grown, are genetically identical to Cruising, but not identical to look at.

Cruising is regarded as one of the best jumping stallions ever bred in Ireland, winning events all over Europe and jumping on winning Nations Cup teams for Ireland in the late 1990s.

The horse died in late 2014, aged 29, shortly after being paraded at the RDS Dublin Horse Show.