Save the Date
September 5-8, 2013 Annual ACPS Meeting -- Estes Park Colorado
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IMPORTANT MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY update!
2013 Inspection Checklist
2013 Nomination Form
ACPS Objectives
To assist and promote the breeding, registration, training, exhibition and general use of the Connemara.
To preserve the unique qualities of the breed.
To assist and promote equestrian competition.
To keep members informed of all matters concerning Connemaras.
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If you should have any questions regarding your renewal, please contact Debbie Busta, the ACPS Membership Secretary at
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Connemara Happenings
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Posted 4.17.2013
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Hamilton, GA:
Connemara ponies can now boast of a fourth PONY winning an Intermediate Horse Trial. Joining Will Ya Love Me, ArdCeltic Art, and Bantry Bay’s Dublin, is Sparrow’s Owen, owned and ridden by Megan Harris. In the Intermediate Divisions, horses (and ponies!) jump up to 34 cross country jumps that are 3’9’’ high and 7’11’ wide!! So congratulations are well-deserved!!
Megan writes the following about her experience, “Owen and I made the big move up to Intermediate a couple of weeks ago at the Poplar Place March Horse Trials. After spending the previous year at Preliminary, and having also completed a CIC*, I felt that we were ready to handle the jumps with the red numbers! I went into the weekend with the goal of: A) having a good time, and B) completing all three phases.
“Owen put in a relaxed, (maybe even a happy?), dressage test, earning us a 39.2 for 8th place. I was thrilled that we'd stayed under a 40! We show-jumped on day two and I was relieved to be getting it out of the way before cross-country. Show jumping makes me the most nervous; my coach, Julie Richards, told me to pretend I was jumping at her farm, so the whole way around the course I was thinking, ‘You're riding at Julie's, you're riding at Julie's. Don't throw up! Breathe!’.
It wasn't until we cleared the last fence that it dawned on me that I hadn't heard a single rail drop, not even a tic! Owen had jumped the only round in our division without a rail. We accrued 2 time penalties, probably due to his significant hang time over the first several fences, and it moved us up to 2nd place.
The night before cross-country we had torrential rain and thunderstorms all night. The barns flooded, and poor Owen didn't even lie down to sleep. The footing was saturated and muddy. I wasn't going until the afternoon, but I was agonizing about whether I should run or not. After talking to about ten people, and after my mom pointed out that Owen had hunted all winter in the mud, without boots or studs, I decided to at least try. I'd let Owen pick his pace, and if he didn't handle the footing well, I'd pull up. He went out of the start box like his tail was on fire! Our first five fences were tables and roll tops of sorts, and he jumped everything right in stride. I took a tug going into the first combination, but then allowed him to pick his own pace again. Then the corner, sunken road, combination drop into water, trakehner and chevron; Owen jumped everything easily, as if we'd schooled it a thousand times. Having planned to navigate the course safely, rather than quickly, I didn't look at my watch until the second to last fence. I was shocked that we were still under optimum time, and as we crossed the finish I figured that we had only accrued a few time penalties.
“I cannot explain the feeling of coming off a course like that; the connection you feel with your pony, the happiness, the tears and excitement. All I could think of was how much I loved my pony, how far we'd come, and that I could not believe we had just finished our first Intermediate! I was headed to the concession stand when my mom caught my attention and held up one finger. One= won. Owen had won the division. I hurried to look at the scores; Owen was in 1st place with a 41.2! We had finished our cross-country course double clear, and were the only ride across all the Intermediate divisions without time penalties. We won our first ever Intermediate by a 10 point margin.”
Altoona, Florida:
In another eventing first, not nearly as momentous, Foothill’s Field Marshall, aka Bruiser, (*Gunsmoke X Foothills Maybee), went to their first recognized Horse Trial and came in first. He was ridden by Elliott Blackmon. In the Beginner Novice Division at Rocking Horse they finished on their dressage score of 27.6. Also competing at Beginner Novice was Karen Joyal and Elderglen’s Lilithe (Ballencrief Brogan X Hideaway’s Zwenski). They came in fourth!
Elderglen Lilithe
Berryville, VA:
So nice to see more foals being born this year!! This is Glendale’s Match Point, a ¾ Connemara by the imported Fernville Matchmaker (Hazy Match X Ross Castle Moya).
Ocala, Fl:
At Elderglen Farm, Jim and Nancy Kilcrease have had a ½ Connemara by WH Top Gun (*Gunsmoke by Ballywhim Candace) out of a TB mare. Nancy says, “We had a lovely filly by Topgun and I believe she is going to be big! We met someone with a warmblood colt that is 2 weeks older than our filly but noticeably smaller. She is only 9 days old in the photo I sent. Kathy Bridges foal by Top Gun is due in the beginning of June. He is competing at Ocala next weekend and we are very excited !”
Salt Lake Valley, Utah:
Celeste Rosquist writes, “In March we had the Utah Horse Expo at the Equestrian Center in the Salt Lake Valley. Most horse people here have never heard of the Connemara pony, so a few of us (very few) decided to have a fun booth at the Expo. Several members who have experience in these expo's helped. Many items such as banners, backdrop, tablecloths, DVDs, and copies of past issues of the Connemara magazines were sent to help make it successful.
“We made copies of the Connemara breed standard and the new brochure from the ACPS web site. The video from Megan Harris of the 2012 Clifden Stallion Parade was a big hit. We also showed the video of Hideway’s Erin Go Braugh ‘The Little Horse That Could.’ Many people stopped and talked to us about the breed. We had alums with pictures of their ponies and a three- ring binder of pictures from the Region I & II, 2013, calendar with copies of the pony profiles also from the web site.
“Manning the booth were Celeste Rosquist and Jan Pierson. I was grateful for Jan's help, the three-day event was long but a lot of fun. One of my friends, Kathleen Lee who owns a half Connemara she bought from Chris Knox after I got her interested in the breed, also helped me Saturday afternoon and evening.
“I feel the expo was beneficial, many more people know more about the breed. We also had a few stop by who were very familiar with the ponies and had very positive things to say. And if nothing else, this was the second Connemara event in the state of Utah, the first being last year when we had the inspections here. We are trying to generate more interest and events in our entire region. Thank you for all who lent a hand to help make this event a success. This organization is filled with wonderful, helpful, dedicated people.”
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Read more on our news page
Connemara Brochure 2013
Download the latest editiom of the
American Connemara Magazine
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Hello All,
I am honored to be your president once again. I want to thank Sally Oxnard for all her years of service and the fine job she has done. I plan to retire in the saddle in my old age and work between our Happy Valley Plantation in VA and Gately Farm in CA.
Our Sad News is that we have found out our beloved stallion, Lone Oak Cedars Grace, is sterile and is on the market as a gelding. The good news is we will be importing a young stallion from Ireland to take his place.
The local California news is that the CDS Amature Owner Training Level Reserve Champion is a couple of blue-eyed creams! Ballencrieff Cameo ridden by Kathryn Lucas! We may be old, but not forgotten!
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Canter On All,
Kathy Lucas, Pres. ACPS
Read more ...
Farm of the Month
Farm: Irish Gate Farm, Bob and Pattie Stalder
Location: Westmoreland, Kansas
What you breed (or train) for: I read once that the largest demographic for owning Connemaras in the U.S. is middle-aged women. It wasn't intentional, even though I'm nearing the far end of what's considered middle-aged, but the ponies we raise are all suited for that demographic. We believe this means they are suited for riders that may or may not be competitive, expect a level-headed, trustworthy mount; enjoy a wide range of disciplines; and have decided not to waste time on a horse or pony that is less than what they want. We are still amazed that Lance (JEF Sir Lancelot) came into our family with an abundance of Connemara attributes! We breed to replicate him - it's that simple. His temperament was rated 10 by the ACPS Inspection Team, he has 10 inch bone, he's extremely handsome, has impeccable manners and he's a proven champion in Dressage, Eventing and as a Hunter/Jumper. Not to mention he drives, trail rides and made our foray into the world of in-hand breeding very easy.
How many resident ponies you have: Lance is our resident stallion and we have three broodmares: Cedar's Charm and Jasmine are purebred Connemaras and Qisara is a registered pony sized Arabian mare. There are always an assortment of youngsters either running the hills of our farm or beginning training and showing.
Names of one or two notable residents: JEF Sir Lancelot has many titles and championships. 2012 Overall High Point Purebred Champion @ Midwest Connemara Breeders Show, 2012 EquiFest of Kansas Battle of the Breeds Res. Champion; 2011 Res. Champion High Point @ Midwest Connemara Breeders Show; 2010 Ranked 11th nationally, USDF Horse of the Year, Training Level, Jr/Yr; Placed in top ten at 2010 USDF Regional Finals; 2010 1st Place - USDF All Breeds Award, ACPS , Jr/Yr; 2010 2nd Place - USDF All Breeds Award, ACPS, Open; 2009 Briar Fox Trials Novice Champion, 2008 Heritage Park Novice Champion; 2007 USEA Area IV Overall High Point Award, 2007 USEA Area IV Beg. Novice Champion, 2007 USEA Area IV BN Horse of the Year, 2005 ACPS Region VII Hunter/Jumper Champion. In 2012 a 14 year old neighbor needed a replacement mount at the last minute for the horse trials in Kansas City. She borrowed Lance and with only 2 days of prep time, they won their Novice Division. He hadn't evented in almost a year - that's just the kind of guy he is.
One thing you would like people to know about your farm: Bob and I are in the unique position here in Kansas to be able to introduce so many new people to the Connemara breed through Lance and his offspring. Kansas just isn't known for Connemaras, but we're working on it. We have a small farm in the beautiful Flint Hills which means our babies grow up on the prairie with deer, coyotes, turkeys and the rest Mother Nature offers. It's always heart warming when we go out to check on them and they come up to say hello as though they really are happy to see us. Lance is our first and only stallion. We are very proud to say that there are Lance offspring carrying on his legacy in South Carolina, Wyoming, Washington, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon, Missouri, Oklahoma, Vermont, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. We enjoy every minute of sharing Lance with people at shows and events. He always makes us proud and is the perfect Ambassador for our chosen breed.
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Previous Farms of the Month:
1-13 Hollymead Farm
1-8-12 Fade to Grey Farm
1-22-12 Big Bear Farm
2-5-12 Paradox Connemaras
3-4-12 Rivendell Farm
3-18-12 Cashel Bay Connemara Pony Stud
7-1-12 Prarie Connemara Farm
Farm of the Month: If you are interested please send the following information about your farm to balmullofarm@gmail.com
Be sure to include one or two photos!!
Name:
Location:
What you breed (or train) for:
How many resident ponies you have:
Names of one or two notable residents:
One thing you would like people to know about your farm:
Farms will be featured strictly on a first come/ first served basis.
