Welcome to the American Connemara Pony Society Web Site

Laura Carpenter Balding is truly a member of one of the first families of Connemaras in America, hers being one of the first families to import Connemaras to this country from Ireland. She grew up where all the activities revolved around horses and dogs and related activities. Says Laura, "all my family rode horses and ponies. There were 5 of us kids…we rode trails, played games, participated in Pony Club activities and foxhunted. Went to shows and won ribbons, rode in parades and anywhere we could for any reason we could justify." With Jackie Harris and Charlotte Read her mentors, Laura's mother D.J. Carpenter Moore in the 1950's, bought several Connemaras from LeWa Farms in Illinois, as well as a young stallion by Toureen Laddie from Charlotte, and later imported breeding stock from Ireland. The lines that they imported are still going strong at Three Creek Farm in St. Louis where Laura is now resident manager.They raise Connemaras and halfbreds, and also breed, show and hunt Basset Hounds. Laura, herself, has competed in many horse sports including dressage, combined training, pleasure and combined driving, as well as in the hunter ring, and in trail and endurance competition. The Tre Awain (Three Creek in Gaelic) ponies have been particularly successful in dressage. One of the first purebreds to show at the highest levels of dressage, Gilnocky Ard-Righ McDaire, was trained at Three Creek and a pony bred and raised there, Tre Awain Devalera, competed very successfully at the Grand Prix level. He was trained in Haute Ecole by Chuck Grant and campaigned by Mari Zdunic. Tre Awain Ginger Blue has also left his mark in the Dressage Arena when he was in residence with Kathryn Roe and ridden by her daughter-in-law, Kim Roe.

Laura trained to be a teacher and is a certified Montessori teacher for 2-6 yr olds. She worked three years in that profession…two in the Head Start program in St. Louis, and one in a local school for early education before returning to become the full time manager at Three Creek. Laura now uses her teacher training to teach children about horses and ponies. Her mother and some other interested parents had started The Bridlespur Pony Club, still in existence, in the 50's. Laura was an active member until she went away to school at 15. Later, she became an instructor and clinician for them, as well as being for a few years the USPC District Commissioner. Besides teaching, Laura has taken advantage of riding, schooling, and learning opportunities anywhere she could. She has benefited from instruction and pleasure rides in this country, Italy, Ireland, Norway, Germany and France and she continues to participate in clinics and workshops in horse husbandry, form and function as well as performance disciplines. She was at the first ever Connemara conformation clinic in the early 90's and has visited Connemara farms in England , Ireland , Sweden and France.

Since she was in her early 20's she has served as a judge, international team coach, Pony Club instructor, coach and examiner (D levels) and amateur whipper- in. For two years she was a resident riding instructor and stable manager in a girls boarding school. After being trained in therapeutic riding for people with disabilities, she partnered with two other people to start a program at Three Creek Farm, using Connemaras, to serve riders with disabilities. They kept an average of 14 mares in the program…with as many as 25 or 30 to pick from, most bred and raised at Three Creek. The program was one of the first ones in the country and is still flourishing today in its own state of the art facility, not far from Three Creek Farm.. Laura remains active as an instructor in driving and as an advisor to the program and consultant to the horse department manager.

Laura has served the ACPS in many capacities, including President. She was Chair of the Inspection Committee when it was first formed and gathered and formulated some of the first ideas about inspections in this country. She has also judged at many all-Connemara shows, and given conformation clinics around the country. She has been an inspector since the beginning of the program.

Laura is also part owner of a circus! Circus Flora (named for their elephant, Flora) was started by Laura's husband, David Balding, and Laura has helped with the enterprise since its inception. DeValera was even a star of his own act in the circus for several seasons. She says the best advice she ever received was to have confidence in one's own first response. People all around her have learned to be thankful for her first responses and to trust her good instincts!

Chris Knox

Chris Knox is a full time horse trainer, riding instructor and coach and also the manager of Knox Farm. She graduated from the University of Colorado with a BA in Animal Behavior and Sports Psychology. Chris is a US Pony Club graduate 'A' and has served Pony Club as a coach, national examiner, horse management judge, clinician, and has been on several National and Regional committees. She is currently coach for both the local Pony Club and upper level rating candidates for the Intermountain Region. Students she has coached have competed at the North American Young Rider Championships as well as World Championships in eventing. She also coaches FFA horse judging and serves as a consultant to the District 4H horse council. For 20 years she was an AHSA (now US Equestrian Federation) licensed judge in Dressage and Combined Training as well as a licensed Technical Delegate for these two disciplines. As such she judged at many of the most notable Events in the US including an observation trials for the 1996 Olympic Games Three Day Event team. She has taught clinics in driven dressage and combined driving as well as giving numerous mounted and horse management clinics throughout the US, Canada, England and Ireland over the past 40 years. Chris has also taught horsemanship and equine science at Colorado State University and at the high school level. In 2003 she was the judge for both the ACPS Region I and Region III shows.

Chris has been competing in horse sports since 1960 throughout the US and Canada. She loves all types of riding and has participated in combined driving, polocrosse, polo, team penning, cutting, reining, ranch work, games and ski-joring, as well as the International equestrian disciplines of eventing, show jumping and dressage. As a junior rider she won Illinois Horse of the Year honors in Hunter, Jumper and Hunter Seat Equitation. She won New York State PHA Working Hunter reserve champion with Driftwood, a horse she trained herself while still in high school. She has competed home bred and trained jumpers to numerous awards and showed Kalmar Kastle at Spruce Meadows and other major shows. He went on to be four times amateur jumper champion in Mexico. In dressage she has also won on home bred and home trained horses including Frolic who was IDCTA Horse of the Year at 3rd level and was never beaten in dressage except by Debbie McDonald's World Cup horse, Beau Rivage. In addition she has competed through the advanced level in eventing and was long listed for the 1976 Olympic Three Day team. She trained under coach Jack LeGoff and has ridden and competed with contemporaries Bruce Davidson, Tad Coffin, Ralph Hill, Brian Sabo, Lendon Grey, Jim Graham, Denny Emerson, Denis Glaccum, and Roger Haller.

Chris started breeding Connemaras in 1993 and has visited breeders in Ireland, England, Guernsey, and Canada. Prior to that time she had been breeding Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods (primarily Trakehner/Thoroughbred crosses) for the International disciplines. She had sold top dressage, jumpers and event horses throughout North America, but was looking to produce a horse which was more suitable to the junior and amateur rider and one that would possess both outstanding athletic ability and a 'user friendly' attitude. She feels that with Connemaras she can offer a horse/pony which can be both a best friend and a performance animal….and they are CERTAINLY fun! In fact, Chris says with Connemaras she can live by Roger Haller's words…. "It's never too late to have a happy childhood!" Chris has been involved with the ACPS inspection process since its inception and as an Inspector for the past five years. She is currently the ACPS 2nd Vice President. Chris obviously takes to heart what she says is the best advice she ever received……. "Kick on!"

Helen King

Horse and dog show judge, breeder of champion dogs and ponies, personal assistant to Hollywood stars, business woman, interior decorator …..Helen King is truly a Renaissance woman! For the last 13 years she has had her own interior design business. Before that, she and husband Mel owned and operated Cashel Enterprises in Silver Creek, Washington where they manufactured closed cell foam saddle pads as well as other various equine related products. Helen bred and raised one of the most famous Connemara ponies in America, Custusha's Cashel Rock or Rocky, the fabulous hunter jumper pony, later to become a Breyer model. Helen has been a rider most of her life and in the early 1960s while riding at Myopia Stable in Hamilton, Massachusetts saw Whitewood Good Friday on the trails. She fell in love with her. She thought she was one of the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen, a lovely palomino with a gorgeous white flowing mane and tail.

In 1966 she attended a school of horsemanship in Ireland and went to shows nearly every weekend. There she saw Tommy Wade show Dundrum, his amazing Connemara/Thoroughbred cross by Little Heaven, many times. She became truly hooked, so in 1970 she started a search throughout New England for the perfect Connemara brood mares. She wanted to breed athletes, so planned to buy something she could breed to Texas Hope, who was by Little Heaven. She bought 2 mares from Louise Clough (one of the first breeders in this country), Springledge Banlin and Springledge Taffy, both by Springledge Bantry Bay who was by the imported Whitewood Galway Bay. Both were rugged ponies with great type and conformation. She later found out that Taffy was a daughter of Whitewood Good Friday, the Connemara she had first fallen in love with! Taffy was bred to Texas Hope and in 1972 produced Custusha's Cashel Rock. The rest, as they say, is history. He was Grand Champion Connemara in Hand at the Regional Connemara Show in Woodstock, VT in 1977, 1978 & 1979, the only Connemara that has won that 3 times in a row, to retire the trophy. Rocky also won countless other high score and year end awards in in-hand, jumper, hunter, dressage and combined training. He won the An Toastal, the Camlin and many Gold medals in performance. Helen also bred Cashel's Rock of Ages, many times Horse of the Year in dressage and Supreme Breed Champion at the West Coast Connemara Show. She and husband Mel also bred a Thoroughbred race horse that set a new track record!

Helen's formal horse education began in Ireland in 1966 at a school of horsemanship with classes on conformation. They were bombarded with lessons on legs, shoulders, bodies, necks, heads and movement. One of the instructors was an International competitor at the time and they would go to shows nearly every weekend just to watch and learn structure, movement and athletic ability. They also attended breed competitions and jumping competitions. In addition, they went to livestock fairs where they would have to hypothetically choose something to buy and explain why. The instructors would then tell them how they did and explain why they were right or wrong. She has returned to Ireland many times since as well as attending countless clinics on structure, movement & type. She has also judged many in-hand and performance classes, all breed as well as Connemara. Besides breeding and judging Connemaras, Helen is a dog breeder and judge. She has bred Great Danes, Basset Hounds and a few Afghans. Her dogs produced many champions as well as Group and Best in Show winners in the 1970s. Her Great Dane lines are still active today after nearly 35 years. She is now an avid participant in dog agility trials where she competes at the highest level in AKC and NADAC trials with her Standard Poodle, Penhurst Queen of Spain (Isabella). Helen has been an inspector since the early days of the ACPS inspection program. Her most valuable advice……….. "NEVER EVER think you know all there is to know AND don't let your heart rule your purchasing and breeding decisions. Always be open to new ideas and learning." It has certainly made Helen a success!!

Donna Duckworth

Donna Duckworth is the scientist inspector. With a PhD from Johns Hopkins University in Biochemistry, Donna is a full time teacher and researcher at the University of Florida College of Medicine. She does research on the treatment of bacterial disease with bacterial viruses and teaches medical and graduate students about infectious diseases. She has also done research on the horse intestinal tract with the College of Veterinary Medicine at Florida, with the aim of developing a novel treatment to lower the incidence of colic. Several years ago she wrote a series of articles on diseases that could affect the horses' neurological status for the American Connemara.

Donna has been breeding Connemaras at Balmullo Farm in Florida since the early 1980's. A Connemara was bought for her young son and when Donna realized what equine jewels Connemaras were, she decided to do what she could to increase their numbers. Donna then chanced to meet Eileen Simpson who resided in Scotland not far from her (Donna's) then mother-in-law, and regularly visited Sydserff Farm, taking many lessons in Connemara type from Eileen. She also made numerous trips to the Clifden show in Ireland to see the ponies there. In 1997 she took a group of people to the ECPS 50th anniversary show in England where Eileen won the filly class with one of her beautiful ponies. Later, the group spent several days at Sydserff Farm, starting a wavelet of imports from there. Donna would like to breed safe, talented ponies that all look like Marble! Wouldn't we all?? But with the emphasis on breeding ponies for children and timid adults, temperament is everything for Donna. But, being an experimentalist, she freely admits to breeding some ponies just to see what happens. Her latest experiment in the works is to breed a smallish Connemara mare to a Hanoverian. Since its inception, Balmullo Farm has produced over 50 ponies, many of whom actively compete in dressage, hunters, or combined training.

Although Donna astounded her vertebrate anatomy professor in her undergraduate years (a rather long time ago) by making the highest grades anyone had ever made, her first horse confirmation clinic occurred when she was asked to bring some Connemaras to a US Dressage Federation judging clinic. Amazingly, the half Connemara, Balmullo's Amazing Grace, outshone many of the Trakheners and other warmbloods at the clinic, with many individuals commenting on her lovely confirmation and way of going. "Mazie" went on to win the ACPS' highest award for hunter ponies. Donna later took a 4 month "Form to Function" horse confirmation class from Dr. Sandi Lieb at UF. She was so impressed with the class that she arranged for Sandi, along with Eileen Simpson, to give the first ever confirmation clinic held by the ACPS. This was in Florida at Balmullo Farm in 1992 and was attended by people from all over the country. Since then two other conformation clinics have been arranged at Balmullo Farm, one given by Lib Petch, and one given by Laura Carpenter and Marynell Eyles. Donna was also the DC of the local Pony Club, and helped coach the club's Know-Down team. Donna has been an inspector since the early days of the inspection process and has conducted inspections with five different English or Irish inspectors.

Although not an active competitor herself, Donna was a horse show Mom for many years for daughter Alexandra and son Edward. The horses and ponies they showed were either the first Connemaras at Balmullo Farm (and some of the first to be bred in this country), Rosehill's Glenconi and Oakhill's Sweet Ashley, or were home-breds. All were almost always in the ribbons at the various shows they attended. After Donna was left with an empty nest, she organized a Connemara Quadrille, using all Balmullo Farm ponies, that put on exhibitions, accompanied by Irish music, at various dressage shows in the region. Donna now enjoys showing her young Connemaras in the Connemara classes at both the Region 3 and Region 4 Connemara shows, and is especially fond of showing "Minnie", a recent Irish import picked out at the Clifden show in 2002 by Donna. Minnie was Grand Champion of the Region 4 show in 2003. Donna also enjoys taking people for trail rides on her (almost) always steady Connemaras through her neighbor's "Temple of the Universe", several hundred acres of woods and fields kept as a conservation area. She says that her Godmother advised her to be always kind and generous and she would like to live by this advice although she admits that it is not always easy. But she says the ponies are excellent role models and she hopes to live up to their standards!

Kathy Sparks

Kathy Sparks comes by her interest in Connemaras honestly with both sets of grandparents having ties to Ireland. Kathy grew up on farms in Northern Indiana and Wisconsin. Her teen years were spent in Antwerp, Belgium, where she graduated from the Antwerp International School. She then got a BS from Purdue and graduate degrees from the University of West Florida (teaching) and Western Washington University (chemical education). She taught in both high school and college, where she was affectionately called the ROCK Lady…..not because she is so tough, but because she taught geology. After some 20+ years teaching Kathy “retired” to a small farm in Brown County, Indiana where she now raises Connemara ponies and runs the Slippery Elm Shoot Inn, a Bed and Breakfast.

Kathy was first introduced to Connemara Ponies back in the late 1970’s while living in Washington State. She was associated with Whidbey Island Pony Club, serving as an examiner and instructor. One of her students rode a cute little dun Connemara pony which all the children wanted to ride, it was so nice. In the hunter ring, however, the pony was almost always outdone by her archrival who just happened to be another dun Connemara pony – Custusha’s Cashel Rock, the famous Connemara bred by Helen King. He not only beat the Whidbey Island Connemara but most of the other competition as well. Kathy decided then that when she settled down she would raise Connemaras.

It took awhile but Kathy is now doing just that. Kathy had found, by her involvement with raising Saanen dairy goats, how important a study of pedigrees can be. Through the careful study of the goats’ pedigrees, Kathy was able to produce champion milkers, her does often finishing in the top 20 nationwide. So after a careful study of Connemara pedigrees and travels in England, Scotland, France and Ireland as well as the United States, the first Connemaras came to Slippery Elm Shoot Farm in 1996. The farm is now home to 8 purebred Connemara mares and various offspring. Her pride and joy is Sydserff Doon, a pony she saw as a weanling in Scotland and fell in love with. Kathy is still also, after nearly 25 years, involved with Pony Club, as the DC of Possum Trot Pony Club. Her daughter Faye is a C3. Paired with Ridgetop Irish Trinket, one of Kathy’s Connemaras, she is very successful at combined training as well as being the star of the Know-down team. The team, coached by Kathy, earned at spot at the International Know-down in 2003. Besides being a mentor to her pony clubbers, Kathy has been a 4H clinician and judge in both Washington and Indiana, judging several shows each year for the past 20 or so years. She has also judged the Region 10 ACPS show two times and in 2004 judged the Region IV show in July. She then had the honor of judging the Connemara show in Clifden, Ireland in August, only the second American to do so. Kathy is also an Inspector for the ACPS and has been ACPS Awards chair, chair of the Inspection Committee. She alos served for three years as the President.

A life long equestrian, her favorite mount was a homebred Thoroughbred, Prince A’Polo, whom she evented to Preliminary level. The pair went on to compete quite successfully at fourth level dressage. Kathy loved Polo for the same reasons she loves her Connemaras -- Polo was a kind soul, always gave his all and never put a foot wrong in competition. Her Quarter Horse/Morgan cross mare “Dakota”, now aged 32, has been ridden thousands of miles in competition during competitive trail rides. Kathy and Dakota won Best Conditioned Horse 4 years in a row during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and also finished a close third in 1980 in the Washington State 100 Mile Competitive Trail Championship. Currently Kathy is focusing on Combined Driving and with Connemara mares, Ridgetop Thule Mist and *Sydserff Doon, has finished Reserve Champion at the INDIANA Whips and Wheels Spring Driving Event. Both Thule and Doon have been Grand Champions in hand as well. Her current project is a pair of dun driving mares, Tre Awain Amberwitch and Tre Awain Shanna Golden. Over the years, Kathy has participated in numerous judging clinics and training sessions, equine short courses at Washington State, Ohio State and Purdue University, given clinics to both 4H and Pony Club members and taught Equine Studies at local community colleges. She has been a member of the 4H Council, served on committees for the local planning commission, and volunteered at the local art center.

Kathy also enjoys gardening and is quite an accomplished basket weaver, having studied Shaker basket making techniques for over 30 years. She is the author of two books: The Song of the Muskox and Laboratory Exercises in Earth Science: A Study of the Pacific Northwest.

Her philosophy is a simple one but very effective: always be honest and fair and work hard, advice she received from her father.

Joanie Webster

Joan Webster, "Joanie" to almost everyone, grew up on a farm in Illinois and was a long-time member of 4-H where she was involved in breeding, showing,and judging both horses and cattle. Her family developed a herd of 200 purebred Angus, bred from imported Scottish stock. While in college, Joanie showed a homebred steer at the International Livestock Show and Exposition in Chicago and placed in the top ten. She says it is one of her most memorable experiences. As a child in Illinois, she competed in a variety of equestrian disciplines, including western pleasure and three-gaited riding before moving on to hunters and jumpers. To help cover the costs of riding lessons
in her childhood, Joanie attended area hunter/jumper shows where she earned money by braiding horses for competition.

For the past 25 years, Joanie has been the prime mover of Stonybrook Connemaras in Napa, California, where she stands the imported Irish stallion, *Canal Laurinston. The imported Clifden winner, *Kingstown Joe,was Stonybrook's junior stallion until gelded for medical reasons in 2004.*Canal Laurinston, ("Chip"), competes in dressage, driving, and jumping and excels in all. Many times, he has been a Champion In Hand and in Performance at the West Coast Connemara Show. In the ACPS Awards programs,he has won a number of certificates and the "Award of Excellence" in dressage.

Joanie first became involved with Connemaras when, years ago, she saw Sally Green's eight year old daughter ride the stallion, Gilnocky Drumcliff, in a childrens' schooling show. She was fascinated with his intelligent, kind and accepting disposition, and amazed, (as most people are at first!), that a child could handle a stallion so safely and effectively. She was attracted to Connemaras because she was looking for a competitive "small horse" with a good mind, suitable for her own children.

Joanie soon found that the Connemara, being the largest of the pony breeds, is often suitable as a riding animal for ALL members of a family. She realized that a Connemara can compete in any company, and being smarter than the average equine, can do almost anything. Says Joanie, "throughout my years of being exposed to many breeds of horse and pony, I have never had more fun, or more confidence, than when working with Connemaras." That sentiment would be echoed by the Websters' two daughters who grew up with Connemaras and competed nationally and internationally on both Connemaras and Thoroughbreds. Lee Webster, riding her Canadian Thoroughbred, Pericles,is a past member of the California Young Riders Three-Day Event Team and now operates her own breeding and training facility, Blue Chip Stables in Penngrove, CA. She continues to work with Connemaras as well as other breeds. While in High School, and not to be left behind, Lee's younger sister, Julie, qualified her purebred Connemara gelding, Roundstone McMunch,for the National Preliminary Level Championships in Eventing. Lee also competed Balius Kerry Blue, a 14.1 hh mare, through Intermediate Level in Eventing. Thus, Joanie did her share of time as a horse show mom!

Joanie spends considerable time studying horses in general, and Connemaras in particular - breeding, genetics, conformation. She has attended virtually all of the breed activities/clinics sponsored by the American Connemara Pony Society, including the first ever breed type/conformation clinic at Balmullo Farm in Florida. She has attended breeding and horse health seminars offered by local veterinarians and at UC Davis. She has traveled to Ireland on five occasions to visit breeders and to attend the annual Clifden Shows. On two occasions, she traveled to Ireland specifically to attend CPBS spring Inspections. In 1997, she attended the 30th Anniversary Show of the French Connemara Pony Society. She and husband, John, also visited the farm of longtime Connemara breeder, Tom MacNamara, while on a trip to New Zealand. In 2003 and 2004, she attended the Clifden Type/Conformation Clinic for Connemara breeders. Over the years, the Websters have hosted Connemara breeders from England, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand and Australia at their home in California.

In 2000, Joanie judged the In Hand classes of the Region III Annual
Connemara Show with Lady Maria Levinge, Bunclody, Ireland. She has served on several occasions as judge for dressage schooling shows at Wild Horse Valley Ranch, Napa, CA. Joanie is a charter member of the ACPS Inspection Committee, and believes strongly in the necessity for an inspection process to maintain the type and traits of the native Connemara pony, features which attracted her to the breed in the first place. She has been an inspector for the past 8 years.

Joanie has served on the Board of Governors of the ACPS for many years and has held a number of positions and offices. She was Chairperson of the Blue-Eyed Cream Study Committee from 1999-2001. As such, she communicated with Connemara owners around the world, as well as coordinating with other related studies and breed organizations. She currently serves as First Vice President of the American Connemara Pony Society and as a member of the Connemara/Welsh Committee of the United States Equestrian Federation. She has also been America's delegate to the annual ICCPS meeting in Ireland.

The best advice she ever received? "Buy a Connemara," of course!