Leesburg, Va: Joyce Lawton has sent an update on some of their ponies. They have several crossbreds by Greystone Ian McVai (Greystone McErrill X Hideaway’s Erin Mavourneen) out of Dance Fever, a now 30 year old Welsh/TB mare. Ian McVai has been one of the top Connemara sires of hunter ponies and these are no exception. Joyce says, “Blue Moon's Ladies Man is currently standing 4th out of more than 800 horses and ponies competing in the Marshall and Sterling Childrens Hunter Series. He and his rider, Victoria Ganzi, have been Champion or Reserve nearly every time out in the childrens pony division and she plans to move up to the regular large division in the fall.

Blue Moon's Ladies Man

His full sister, Blue Moon's Glass Slipper is also picking up some tri-colors for her new rider,Victoria Nolletti.

Blue Moon's Glass Slipper

In other news, we purchased a half sibling to our homebreds (also by Ian) this spring and he will hopefully be showing some in VA this summer under the name Blue Moon's Double-O-Seven. He's grey, 4 yrs. old, and wonderful to work with. He's been doing some lessons at home (Dragonfly Farm in Leesburg) with our 1st Ian baby, Blue Moon's Like A Charm, who at 17, looks just the same as she did at 3...not surprising when you consider her 30 yr. old dam is leased out to 2 little girls in MD this year.” The photos are an older one of Ladies Man schooling at his first show, a photo of Glass Slipper doing leadline at Devon as a 2 yr. old, and one of Like A Charm with her dam, Dance Fever.

Like A Charm with her dam, Dance Fever

Harwinton, CT: DryBrook Farm is excited to welcome our 2nd foal this Spring. DryBrook's Moon River, a colt out of Kathy TrumSearah's mare, S/H Cordia and by Donnarweiss, GGF an approved ISR/Oldenburg, Hanoverian, RPSI stallion, who stands at Hilltop Farm of Coloria, MD. Chris Hickey is Donnarweiss' rider and trainer and is impressed that as a 6 six yr old he is already mastering pirouettes and is looking forward to his FEI debut. This is our 3rd foal by Donnarweiss, who stamps his foals with beautiful, up hill movement. River was born 6/18 and has a loving, curious temperament and is already showing some lovely movement in all 3 of his gaits. He is offered for sale.

Lexington, Ky: Besides Lisa Strouds’s Connemara four-in-hand (which consistently appears at world championships), a Connemara/TB is on the short list for the World Horse Driving Championships. The following notice re the single horses comes from the USEF. Listed are driver, area, name of horse, sex, age, breed, and owner. “The following short list has been approved for the 2008 FEI World Single Horse Driving Championships:
Leslie Berndl / 45 / Newcastle, CA / Koopman's Lightning Rod / Gelding / 12 / Hackney/ Ann McClure
Marjas Becker / 61 / Brooker, FL / Capodimonte / Gelding / 10 / 1/2 Arabian-NSH / Marjas Becker
Donna Crookston / 59 / Saltsburg, PA / RG Cowboys Black Cadillac / Gelding / 12 / Morgan / Donna Crookston
Robin Groves / 62 / Brownsville, VT / Thors Toy Truck / Gelding / 13 / Connemara-Thoroughbred / Lana Wright
William Peacock / 62 / Belleville, TX / Beau / Gelding / 11 / Holsteiner Cross / Proud Meadow Farms
David Schneider / 48 / Palm City, FL / Carlo / Gelding / 8 / Schweres Warmblood / David Schneider

Katensen, Germany: Martin & Patricia Schmidt are very pleased to share that Pattys Veuve Clicquot,(Pattys Silverdun Velvet X Pilgaards Vogue), sire of Mel Leigh-Deux's Pattys Noblesse Oblige (out of Kirkeledgaards Margaux) and Marian McEvilly's Pattys Look At Me (out of Pattys Maxime), continues to do well in performance classes. Last year he won several dressage classes with high scores, often he scored over 8, even against big horses. This year, with his new owner, a young girl from Berlin, he was competed for the first time in a leading-rein dressage competition for young riders and he won out of 2 huge divisions and the allover first prize with flying colors.

Patty says, “Clici is such a sweetheart and loving soul, he is all you want from a true Connemara pony, truly an amabassador for the whole breed! He still is and will stay stallion with this family, even though the girl is so young and is going big places with lots of other horses around them- and he's always behaving very gentleman like!

Veuve Clicquot

“Another home raised stallion from us, 5 yrs old Springfield Shadow (Innelan Kestral X Springfield Maevis) is leased to Ireland to the Cullintra Stud (http://irishhorseworld.com/) and also did very good in his first outing in Ireland! He just was shown in-hand and later also competed by a 15yrs old boy and received:
Irish Pony Society Show in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford:
First price/ won in the connemara in hand class.
First price/ won in the ridden Mountain and Moorland class.
And finally he won Reserve Allover Mountain and Moorland Champion.
Patty sent photos of each stallion, the dun is Clici, the grey Shadow.

Springfield Shadow

Spruce Grove, Abta, Canada: Jocelyn Davis has announced that Devon Ridge Farm’s last foal of the year has been born (hooray!). The colt was born July 5th and is out of HK Ladyhawke (Tulira Robuck x Kestral 1st ( X Calla Boy)) and by Bantry Bay Dillon (Bantry Bay Ace x Concord River Minute Maid).