Welcome to the American Connemara Pony Society Web Site

Do you have news about your Connemara that you would like to share with other ACPS members? Email Donna Duckworth with the details and any photos to duckwort@mgm.ufl.edu. Show results, results of inspections, new foals or unusual adventures especially welcome! Please note that any professional photos must be accompanied by a photographer's release before they can be used.

Fayetteville, GA: Megan Buchannan Harris sent this report. “Sparrow's Owen (*Grange Finn Sparrow X Appendix mare) brought home the blue at his second outing at Novice level! He and owner/rider, Megan Harris, competed at the Poplar Place Horse Trials the weekend of March 20th, and were 1st out of 17 in their division. The pair was in a three-way tie for second after dressage, and moved into a three-way tie for first after a clean and speedy show jumping round. Cross-country proved to be the determining factor, when Owen and Megan were the only pair to incur no time or jumping penalties, they clinched the win! Owen's half-sibling, Rivendell's Mr. Bubbles (*Grange Finn Sparrow X ISH mare), and his owner/rider, Claire Robinson, took home a respectable 5th place ribbon in their first Training level event. The pair only added two rails to their dressage score. Both of these half-breds are qualified for regional (Area III) championships and AEC's!”

Colville,WA: Kelsie Staeheli sent this photo of “Dancing with the Stars”. It is Tullymor's Mountain Sun (Tullymor's Mountain Shadow X Tullymor's Kiss of Sun ) and Castlebar Tipperary (Skyview's Orion X Shetland) who is in foal to Sun.

Peotone, IL: Jessica Cohen has sent news of her new foal born at Windy Isles Farm in Illinois. “Just had a dun (to stay dun! Finally breaking my streak of greys…) colt foal (sadly haven't broken my colt streak...) born on March 20th sired by *The Quietman (Moy Hazy Cove X Blathin Chonamara [by Cloonisle Cashel]) out of Arbor Lane's Bailey (*Gunsmoke X Foothills Maybee [by Balmullo's Beacon]). He's very fancy and flashy and I'm really happy with him. Still trying to figure out names but that'll come. Pictures are at a day old - weather's been yucky so we've kept him inside since, so no newer photos.”

Breman, Germany: May Reiman writes that, “Just in time for spring our dun mare Hohnhorst Milana (Patty’s Benedict X Norland’s Madigan) gave birth to a huge bay colt. This is Hohnhorst Jordan's (Hesselbjerggard Justice X Enghojs O’Hara) first foal and I'm really impressed how good he is. We named him Jarmuk after the biggest tributary of the Jordan river. The next foal is due in April, so we are able to catch up on sleep until then.”

Ballygar, Connemara, Ireland: Karen Vicencio sent the following news from the Old Country! “We had our first-ever dressage show at the equestrian centre we recently re-opened. One of my students brought her pony up for the show, but it was discovered she had developed a pretty bad cough over-night, and she had to be returned to the trailer without getting the chance to show. My student is a serious competitor (she and her pony were the regional champions last year), and she was desperate to ride. So, I pulled out Balius Derring Do aka Brannigan (Balius Brannigan X Connemara’s Emerald Star), who is 19 years old this year, and let her ride him. She rode in two preliminary tests and one novice test (preliminary is the equivalant to training level in the states, novice is the same as first level). It was her first time doing the novice. They won all three classes! Not bad seeing as I have only been driving Brannigan for the past several years, he only gets ridden maybe once every couple of months, she had only ridden him once before, and they only had all of about 15 minutes to warm up. Gotta love the Connemaras!” Karen, who moved from California to Ireland several years ago, is now managing the Equestrian Center in Glennamaddy. It had been closed for a number of years but is now up and running again.

Stockholm, Sweden: Jenny Hagenblad sends this news from Sweden. “Last weekend was the stallion inspections in Sweden and we got two new stallions approved. The first was the four-year-old Erinmore Golden Marble. Golden Marble is the last foal by Øxenholm Marble, Jr., and he is thus a grandson of Marble and a half brother of Janus who died last year. The dam is the German import Glaskopf Grey Joanna (by Frederiksminde Hazy Marvel out of Glaskopf Grey Joan). Last autumn Golden Marble won the national finals for the three-year-old tests and he has also been successful at in-hand shows. Now he was approved with a 9 (out of 10) for type.

The second new stallion to be approved was the five-year-old XL Broderick. He is from the first crop of foals by Coosheen Finbarr out of Moyode Ailing (by Grange Finn Sparrow out of Moyode Tansy). XL was also successful at the young pony tests earning a jumping award as a three-year-old and a dressage award as a four-year-old. At the inspections he scored particularly well in the jumping phase of the performance test with all 9s from the test rider.

Photos of both boys can be seen here: http://www.connemaraponny.org/nyhingst.htm

Coosheen Finbarr had a good weekend with a son approved and also earning his A premium at the age of just nine.

In Ireland the Swedish-bred Hagalyckans Breándan was approved as a class I stallion at the inspections there. Breándan is the last foal from another Øxenholm stallion, this time Øxenholm Bobby. Bobby was by Cocum Hawkstone and thus a grandson of Leam Bobby Finn. Breándan's dam is Dangan Memory (by Castlestrange Fionn out of Dangan Molly). I've also heard rumours that another Swedish-bred stallion was approved as class I in Ireland. This should be Fredriksminde Lorenzo, born at the Lofty stud out of Frederiksminde Mathilda. If the rumour is correct it was Coosheen Finbarr's second son to be approved in less than a week.”

Past Weekly News