Kiltinane Polly aged 30 in Jan.'11

If you would like a precious gift to give for a Birthday or Special Occasion, why not consider having a picture painted of a favourite horse or pony, done in any medium you select by the illustrator of ‘Connemara Pony Handbook.’   For more information go to      http://eavanod.blogspot.com    

Josie Conroy & Rebel Wind

   The Traditional Irish Horse Association . Jan’12   Click Here

  For Village Laura    1982-2011       Click Here

Click here        for    Connemara and its Ponies.    1969  Documentary by David Shaw Smith    

Clifden Oct. Sales ’11     Day one    Click here

Day  Two   Click Here       Day Three PLUS   Click Here                  

10 April ’11   Stallion Parade,  Clonshire.   To  view   Click Here           

10 July ’11,  Roundstone July Show     Click Here  for Report    

24 July ’11,  The Midland Group Connemara Show       Click Here  for  Report   Click  Here for Gallery             

 R.D.S Dublin  ’11     Click Here     for Performance and In -Hand.  Click Here   For Ridden Classes.    Click here for Gallery 

CLIFDEN CONNEMARA PONY FESTIVAL 2011. 14 to 21 August,      See Sidebar for Clifden ’11    1. Green Hunter Final, 2. Ridden and In-Hand Classes Thursday 3. Performance Day Friday. 4. For Gallery,

Oughterard Performance Champs ’11       Click Here

Sales August  ’11, Clifden,     Click Here

Sat. 10 Sept ’11   Spiddal Show   Taispeantas Chois Fhairraige  Some Young Stock Winners Click Here  

Glenormiston Rathaniska with Ingrid de Hoedt

How about this New Zealand Connemara Junior Champion Glenormiston Rathaniska (Castle Baron – Glenormiston Rosslea) at her very first outing to the Royal New Zealand Show.    The showing season has just opened there and Ingrid de Hoedt (from Monaghan)was showing her two Connemara fillies, acquired from Australia as foals.  (Scroll down to bottom of page to visit family and ponies at home)

5 yr. old Glenford Pakie 136cms.

Glenford Pakie.   Seen jumping at the recent Clifden Sales, Lot 127, the 134cms bay gelding, Glenford Pakie, a 5yr. old by Robe Earl X Genford Little Lady ;  he  was a joy to watch loose – jumping, in the rather cramped confines of the Mart arena.  With  minimum  encouragement from his owner/breeder Aine O’ Callaghan, he was quietlyand expertly jumping a pole that was  gradually raised to a metre,  then calmly went back to nibbling the edging grass.   He has done some show-jumping and this pic. is courtesy of Aine.   He was sold to a Co. Galway family for E2,000.  Watch out for him.

Aughnanure Leo.       

Winning Millstreet Championship, Aughnanure Leo and Tom Tyrell

Another rising star      in the Show-jumping arenas this past season has been the novice five yr.old Class One Connemara Stallion, Aughnanure Leo (Knockillaree Tomas – Tawin Gemville).  Bred by Lee Hurney just outside Oughterard and owned by his trainer Roger Joyce of Knockillaree Riding Centre and Stud, he is by Roger’s prolific prizewinning Stallion, Knockillaree Tomas.      The breeding is pure native pony with only a trace of Arab and Thoroughbred in the mix, yet this Connemara has already jumped streets ahead of ponies bred purely for show-jumping from generations of top show-jumping bloodlines.  After winning a number of Finals at heights of 80cms, 90cms, and 1metre with his Oughterard rider Tom Tyrell, the pair qualified for the Natrional Pony Discovery Finals at the Millstreet International Show in Co. Cork.  When they won this Contest and also the overall Championship at Millstreet, his connections were mightily pleased.  Roger describes him as having “super scope and huge potential and his temperament is second to none.”  Great to see a young Connemara pony making it at such a high level, a fine advertisement for the breed.      (Article spotted by Niamhs Weblog in the September Oughterard Newsletter.  Excuse poor photo reproduction.

A French Two Year old Champion Connemara.     

Vitamine Family Supreme Champ. 2011

Pascal Wandon of the Family Stud in France sent some recent news from France. His two year old filly Vitamine Family (Ardmore Royal Oak x Poesie Melody) was Supreme National Champion at Pompadour in France this year.  Isabelle and Pascal, based in Normandie, where they currently have five Connemara ponies, have previously won with this filly in both Foal and Yearling classes. From Hubert Laurent of Melody Stud they developed their passion for the Connemara.   Isabelle confirms that with this prestigious win of Vitamine Family, the female line of Carrabaun Cracker, had produced it’s eighth National Champion in France.   On both the sire and dam’s side, the antecedents were all champions in their day.   Isabelle goes through the pedigree: “Her maternal grandmother is Equinoxe Melody (2 times Supreme Champion at the French National and mother of the stallion I Love You Melody.   

Her paternal grandfather is Village Boy – Her maternal grandfather was Imperator Melody, son of Idénoir and Silver Sparrow (Clifden Supreme Champion 1985)

- Her great grandmother Carrabaun Cracker has twice won the Supreme National Championship in 1984 and 1987.    Her mother Poesie Melody was Reserve Junior Champion at the National in 2006 and the first french female from 4 to 10 years in French National 2008,2009,2010 .     Her father Ardmore Royal Oak was the National Reserve Supreme Champion Connemara in 2005.”   and she also carries the bloodlines of Abbeyleix Owen, Murphy Rebel and Coral Prince.   My thanks to the Wandon family for researching all this breeding and Showing information.

.Menlo Boy by Castlestrange Fionn – Festy Lady.  Click on image to enlarge

Menlo Boy With Talitha Diamond

It was just a year and a half ago when Renvyle’s Liam Diamond spotted this stallion show-jumping with his owners, Ray Lee and his family from Headford, Co. Galway. The then eight year old grey by Castlestrange Fionn-Festy Lady showed a tremendous jump and was making his mark having achieved Grade A Status.  But Menlo Boy at that stage was not registered in the Connemara.Pony Stud Book.   Liam, having a special interest in the Performance Connemara, bought the pony, had him upgraded to Class 1 status and registered, then left him with the Lee family to be competed by young Jessica Lee while he guided the stallion’s career from then on.   Although bred by John Conneely from Oughterard his breeding was mainly Carna- based where Pat Mulkerrin of Callowfeenish bred Festy Lady who traces back to Cuach na Coille. Menlo Boy’s breeding is chiefly native pony with the usual mixture of a ‘smidgen’ of Arab and a fair amount of Thoroughbred. His grandsire is Abbeyleix Fionn and his dam is by Ashfield Festy.  

Menlo Boy at Clifden 2010 with Jesica Lee

Menlo Boy had a good year in 2010 with nine wins on the Galway show-jumping circuit, winning both winter and summer Leagues at 1.10 and 1.20 metres at O’Briens Equestrian Centre near Athenry and in October he took a third at Millstreet in the 1.20.metres. At the Puissance in Clifden in August ’10 he had reached the final round at 1.55 metres when he tipped a block on the wall. (Google Menlo Boy and you can watch this performance on U Tube and on the Diamond site)

This year with younger brother, 14 year old Raphael Lee, on board he cleared 1.50 metres to take the 148cms Open Puissance at Headford Gymkhana in June, winning the best Connemara Pony section in the process. As if that wasn’t enough the pair also won the Open Section.   At Louisburg Show he showed the same brilliant form to take the Open Championship. More recently they enjoyed a win in the 1.10 metres in the 148cm Open Championship at Loughrea.  

Winning this year with Raphael Lee

In the Loughrea showgrounds – in a strong field of 25 – they had 2 clear rounds before a jump-off against the clock to finally beat off Dublin qualifier My Dancer and a host of other top circuit performers.

Menlo Boy has also qualified for the High Performance Championship at Clifden this year. So all family members at Diamond’s Equestrian Centre in nearby Renvyle will have a special reason to look forward to an exciting Clifden  next month.

Awards for Alanna

A slight eleven year old Connemara girl and her Connemara Pony have just managed to bring off a singular coup at the National Dressage Winter Finals at Cavan Equestrian Centre last weekend.      

Taibhse na Mara & Alanna Sullivan

With the family’s 13  yr.old  old gelding Taibhse na Mara (Village Boy-Bibi D), bred by the late Willie Diamond,  Alanna  Sullivan gained  the highest score for a Connemara Pony at the Festival along with two  Third places in  mainly adult competitions at this Event.  Alanna from Cleggan rode eight Tests altogether over three days and took home a bagful of Rosettes and Prizes.  Taibhse, a relative newcomer to Dressage, took it all in his stride.  

Joyton Regal Princess

 Her small Welsh  12.2 h.h. pony Joyton Regal Princess  carried out his rider’s skillful aids and performed intricate Dressage manoeuvres in a manner which so impressed the Judges, both National and International, that the pair were awarded  the Championship in the National Preliminary Contest on the Saturday and on Sunday they were the outright winners of the Cavan Festival Championship.  What a feat for such a  ‘wee slip of a girl’ from Cleggan and her pony, bought at the Welsh Sales for three hundred pounds five years ago and put out to grass until Alanna at age nine started riding him.  The pair were attending Dressage competitions early-on as her mother Siobhan Cazabon-Sullivan is already an accomplished Dressage performer.  T he coaching by Siobhán and Grandmother Judy Cazabon at their Cleggan Riding Centre certainly came up trumps in Cavan.    

Illaunurra Shadow with Pat O'Neill

Another happy star was Ballyconeely’s  Pat O’Neill with his home-bred gelding son of Silver Shadow out of Illaunurra Mist.  Pat with Illaunurra Shadow took the Preliminary section in the Sportsman and went on to take the Sportsman A Championship in Cavan. For Pat who only started riding in Dec.’09 this was a huge achievement. Well down to Pat and to all at Cleggan Beach Riding Centre for representing Connemara so well.at the Dressage Championships.

Connemara April '11

 On a fine late April day in Connemara your not- so-vigilant blogger heard that one of the  final Spring Inspections of Connemara Fillies was taking place next morning.  Only just in time to snap a few pictures.    Following the old custom of travelling from one centre to another, in a certain area each day, the inspection team had an early start at Roundstone, before travelling down the road to Ballyconneely and then on to Clifden.      

Inspection Team Padraig Hynes, Gabriel Murphy, Michael Naughton

 The turnout at each centre that Thursday was noticeably smaller than usual and Tully Cross – which should have been included, did not warrant a visit.at all, with only two filly applications for inspection.  Altogether about 30 ponies were seen on the day and the majority, mainly 2 and 3 year old fillies, were upgraded from Class 3 to Class 1. status. The Inspection Team consisted of Breeders Padraig Hynes, Gabriel Murphy and Micheal Naughton.      

Ben Ban Midnight & Sean Conroy

 Unlike the colts, fillies do not have to undergo a performance test, but are scrutinised for conformation, type and movement as well as the normal vet. inspection for soundness and the checking of the microchip.        

All OK in the Passport for Sean Conroy

  In Ballyconneely Sean and Anne-Marie Conroy were there with Ben Bán Moonlight (Dolan Mick-Ben Bán Sally) and this filly was one of the last to go before the inspectors at this venue.  This 2yr.old has a number of Clifden Red Rosettes in her pedigree, including Dolan Mick, Champion in 2006, the well-known Cloonisle Cashel, Cuchulainn, Village Boy and Milford Wren.   An ethereal sea-mist had quietly engulfed Ballyconneely by mid – morning as the Inspection team repaired to Keogh’s for refreshments before the drive to Clifden.       

Clifden Inspections

Ballinamona Lee & Patrick O'Donnell

  In the Clifden show-grounds, Patrick O’Donnell waited patiently with his recent buy  (bought just 2 months ago) the dark grey 2yr.old Ballinamona Lee (River Boy-Lough Mask Lee) bred  by Mayo farrier Joe Killeen, and a first- pony- purchase by her young owner. A pretty, compact looking filly, she was turned out in show condition and will grace the show-rings this coming season. Hazy Dawn, Ashfield Festy and Robe Earl feature in her pedigree.       

Kingstown Diana & Malachy Gorham

  Malachy Gorham had one of his own Kingstown breeding there, the 3yr. old Kingstown Diana (Linsfort Barney-Kingstown Dana) Her dam is the very recent (2008) Clifden Champion, Kingstown Dana.  Silver Fort and Kingstown Silver are fore-mothers.(new word)  (Her variegated coat colour (turning to grey) looks like a throwback to some of her antecedents who include MacDara, (dun), Hillside Sylvia (black), the bay Tully Lad) and Thunderbolt (dark chestnut) all on the Linsfort Barney side. Village Grey and Coosheen Thyme blood also features and the grey coat is obviously winning out in Kingstown Diana.         

Emlough Eugenia & Jeananne Crowley

  And finally the lady owner and breeder Jeananne Crowley, actor, writer and sometime commentator at Pony shows, was there with her more mature filly, her 5yr. old homebred Emlough Eugenia (Bunowen Castle Rí-Roundstone Heather).  With an auspicious English Champion Ridden and Champion in-hand sire and a Dublin winning dam, this mare, broken and riding quietly, is being prepared for a season of Showing-in-hand and Ridden classes this season. One to watch for the future!    Jeananne – who has been     

Near Maam Cross

  involved with ponies for a good part of her life – currently keeps three Connemaras at home outside Cleggan while two of her older ponies (previously owned by Jeananne’s friend, the late Connemara pony judge, Eugenia Murray, are currently competing at top level in English Eventing and Showing.     All photos  © Niamh’s Weblog     For Books info. visit  WWW.MARNE.IE

John Mc Loughlin

  John McLoughlin has probably attended and enjoyed more Connemara Pony Shows, than any other breeder in Connemara.  Since the nineteen fifties when he bagged his first Clifden red rosette with the first pony he bought himself, John has been a quietly charismatic presence at Summer Shows, with or without his own prize-winning mares, for the best part of sixty years.        

Flowers at Derryherbert home

 Driving from his home in Derryherbert near Letterfrack to distant Shows such as Oughterard (a round trip of about 80 miles) in the early days, was an adventure he took in his stride. Three to three-and- a half hours it took to drive his tractor and trailer alone, with a mare or two with foals, along narrow, superbly scenic but bumpy roads and then home again after the Show. Cheerful and uncomplaining, John remained unmarried and cared for his elderly parents and Show Day was always a favourite social occasion, and the fun of winning was an extra bonus.       

Milford Wren Reserve Champion RDS 1994

  One of his prolific winners was the 1982 born mare Milford Wren (Sarsfield-Mervyn Wren). Carrying Carna Bobby in both sides of her pedigree and also the Arab blood of Clonkehan Auratum, she was bred by Tom and Elizabeth Ormsby near Tuam, Co.Galway.  In 1994 Milford Wren won her Mare Class at Dublin and took Reserve Championship there.       

Gentle Wren and John with John Luskin and Nina Gustafson,'99

  Her 1996 foal by Abbeyleix Owen became the prize-winning Gentle Wren and took Red rosettes at Clifden and Dublin also.  In the annals of Clifden Show John McLoughlin’s  name is a constant as his ponies won their Classes on many occasions.  But he holds one day as special: that was when his home-bred Gentle Wren (Abbeyleix Owen-Milford Wren) won her 3yr. old filly Class, followed by the Junior Championship and went on to become the Clifden Reserve Supreme Champion overall and Reserve Connemara based Champion. - a day of pure joy. Gentle Wren is currently in foal to Glencarrig Patrick.         

  Wren’s 2006 foal

Gentle Kate, 3yr Filly Winner and Res.Jun.Champ. '09 Geoffrey Heanue

 

John with Gentle Kate's filly foal of 3 days

 

  Her  foal, by Currachmore Cashel was just 3 days old when visited by Niamh’s Weblog.   She had been stable-born as John’s outdoor grazing where his mares always foal was just too wet this year to leave them out, and the pretty filly foal was just finding her way in bright sunlight around the garden.  Mare and foal are now out and doing well. And Gentle Kate has the good looks and kind temperament characteristic of the Gentle breed of ponies.       

Gentle Kate, April 2011

 

  The McLoughlin family always kept a working pony, but times were hard and they did not breed foals as there was no time for this luxury when a daily round of work was the norm for the resident mare.  John’s father had bought a mare which they named Gentle Polly in 1935 so when he later decided to have his own prefix he choose to use the ‘Gentle’ title. The studbook today carries over 40 of John’s ‘Gentle’ breeding, and the name is respected in pony circles internationally.  He has 7 mares and a filly at present.      

John with double winners, mare and foal

 

 John has had a recent hip operation and has back problems but smiles as he remembers he has had “wonderful days with ponies” and he is looking forward to the coming showing season.      

 Click on  pic to enlarge .     For Books go to  WWW.MARNE.IE         

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in 2009 and was the Reserve Junior Champion.  Clifden old Class at 3yr and won her HeanueGentle Kate by I Love You Melody brings some new French Connemara Performance blood into the mix so Gentle Kate has a bright future ahead of her too.  She is currently shown by Geoffrey

Ingrid de Hoedt, New Zealand Breeder              

Ingrid and family

A visit to the home of Ingrid de Hoedt about 50 miles south of Auckland near a town called Pukekohe, is an experience to savour.  This Irish native - a medical doctor - and her Kiwi husband Ross head up a lively household – “chaotic but good craic”as she herself described her home- comprising three children, Tadhg, Fionn and daughter Cianneth and their visiting Irish Aunt Rose.     Three dogs, including a kindly Irish Wolfhound named Saoirse, at least 1 cat and sundry equines make up the animal menagerie.      

Fillies at play

The horses include a part-bred Shire that Ingrid hunts, a Bush- pony with her half-Arab filly foal and two Connemara fillies, plus a mare which was away with her foal being ‘AI ed’. at the Cambridge centre. You might wonder, as I did, about Bush ponies.      

Bush pony and her half-arab foal

Bush ponies run semi-wild in the Northern part of North Island and are regularly rounded-up and corralled by their Maoiri minders to sell on. The fine looking dark brown or black Bush Pony mare with her half-Arab foal is about 14 hands high.     Ingrid, a General Practitioner in Pukekohe, had travelled to Ireland some years ago with the intention of purchasing some Connemara ponies as she always admired their native bone and substance. She almost bought a stallion but was deterred by the high asking price, the cost of transport and especially by New Zealand’s strict import regulations. She later learned a lot about the ponies from meeting Sue Clarke of Australia’s Glenormiston Stud  and  purchased 2 fillies from her in 2008.        

Rahaniska and Banrion snatch some rich grazing

These two strong yearling fillies, a bay and a buckskin coming 2yrs, were overjoyed at being released, for picture taking,  into the extra rich grass of the resting paddock. Although now twenty years in New Zealand Ingrid still treasures her Irish heritage and loves to give her Connemara ponies Gaelic names.     The dun/buckskin filly is Glenormiston Banríon (Queen) by Glenormiston Celtic Prince and out of Glenormiston Brigid.    Tulira Mairtin, Finola of Leam, Castle Dame, Oxenholm Godot all appear in her bloodlines.   

Glenormiston Banrion, rising 2

Glenormiston Rahaniska, yearling filly

The bay yearling filly in these pictures is by (Castle Baron X Glenormiston Rosslea)  and is named Glenormiston  Rahaniska, ( Rath an Uisce = the gift of water)  Island King, Tooreen Laddie, Abbeyleix Cypress are in the back pedigree.        Ingrid’s  absent 4 yr old mare Mungala Tuar Ceatha (Rainbow) had her first offspring just before Christmas, a colt foal by Mungala Emerald Isle which is appropriately named An Céad Ceann (the 1^st One).   

 P.S. A week after our visit the disastrous Christchurch earthquake struck.  Ingrid immediately set to fundraising for the thousands of families left homeless and had already accepted two evacuated people into her family home.  Her email ends with a “lán grá agus beannacht libh” .(love and blessings) and “be sure to tell any locals coming out for the Rugby World cup that there is a bed for them in our house”.    

Anne Lindesay, Connemara Pony breeder                For Books information visit  WWW.MARNE.IE   

Glenormiston Rowan

Anne Lindesay of Kerri Kerri in New Zealand’s North Island had reached the mature  age of 80 years before she developed an interest in and love of the Connemara pony.  But then Anne Lindesay is not your average octogenarian.  It was a unique pleasure to meet this gracious, elegant and fit looking lady, now 89, who, four years earlier had imported a Connemara stallion from Australia, Glenormiston Rowan (Castle Baron – Glenormiston Rosmara), to serve her three Connemara mares, a grey and two dark bays.        

Bunratty Shannon's Way, or 'Poppy'

Pictured here are Bunratty Shannon’s Way (Ganty Champ X Canningvale Della ) and Charlotte of Takou Bay (Ganty Champ X Ridgeway Patience)    

Charlotte of Takou Bay and foal by Rowan

She had  rescued these mares some years previously   when the Connemara Society of New Zealand were looking for homes for a herd of ponies and she had stepped in and taken three of them.    

Anne driving a Welsh pony

 The intrepid Anne helped break and bring on these unhandled mares herself, and being a keen equestrienne, she rode and drove them until a recent accident – not connected with horses but with an errant hoover-flex - resulted in a hip-replacement operation.  Still in recovery she has her daughter Claire to help out and the accomplished horsewoman, Lada from Chezcslovakia to work with the ponies. Yet, in spite of her setback Anne very kindly invited  Niamh’s weblog to come and view her Connemaras.. This lady had a background in horses going back to her childhood in England and when she met and married her Kiwi husband, they settled outside Kerri Kerri on an 80 acre farm raising cattle, some sheep and breeding warm-blood horses which they showed and hunted locally.    

Claire, Anne and Lada

 But for the past eight years Connemaras are the only equines grazing the lush green Lindesay pastures.  Said grazing must be watched and curtailed year round with electric fencing but in general the Connemara breed seems to have adapted well to the semi-tropical climate prevalent in these parts.    

Glenormiston Rowan shown by Lada Myslikova

Each of the rescue mares has produced fine foals by Rowan who has an illustrious pedigree which includes the Village line and goes back to Village Star, Dun Aengus, Carna Bobby and Lavally Rebel.     

Rowan and Lada herding stock

Lada herself schools and uses the stallion regularly as a “stock horse” working with the cattle. He has also taken a first rosette on the two occasions he has been shown.     

Thornwood Cinnamon with Anne

The 4yr old dun filly, Cinnamon, out of the grey Poppy, has also been backed and lightly ridden by Lada and apparently has the makings of a top brood mare and riding pony with her equable temperament and classic conformation.     

The dark bay (pic above with foal) Charlotte of Takou Bay by Ganty Champ with her very visible branding, is Anne’s favourite riding pony and her owner is looking forward to riding her again in the near future. The three gelding youngsters by Rowan, a yearling, a two and a three yr. old will also receive good handling and management under the caring eye of this extraordinary lady.    

Kohata Harvest Moon with Vanessa on board

Vanessa Robb and Connemara ponies     

 With a population similar to Ireland – circa four million – New Zealand’s two Islands comprise an area over three times the size of our small Island..  Most Connemara ponies were introduced to New Zealand from Australia   But in 1978   Chiltern Sunsilk was imported from Britain and the Irish bred mare Windward arrived soon after.  In 1989 Galway’s Tom McNamara imported the sire Ganty Champ from Ireland so many of the early foals carried these lines.  Their stud book now contains the names of 122 mares and 22 stallions, with currently 7 sires standing at stud.  Niamh’s Weblog was ‘down under’ visiting family and naively hoped to catch some Connemaras at an Agricultural Show, but alas this was not to be.  Breeders are thin on the ground in this beautiful country and huge distances often separate them, so showing their ponies is not an easy option for breeders there.    I was lucky enough to get some contact numbers in the Auckland area where we were based, from the Secretary of the New Zealand Society, Vanessa Robb, herself a Connemara pony owner of fairly recent vintage. She had bought her first horse at age thirteen and is an accomplished rider, having ridden endurance, side-saddle, ‘ribbon-games’ and her specialty,  Medieval Games.     

Keltic O Se

She purchased her first Connemaras from her breeder friend, the late Karen Garner, over 4 years ago and now has 7 which include the 13yr old Australian – bred stallion Keltic O Sé by Glenormiston Jasper – Leitrim Ardán;  We see two mares both in foal to Paddy (as he is known to his friends)     

Rimrock Aurora, yearling filly

The mares are the 5yr.old grey Kohatu Harvest Moon (Lonsdale Moon – Waterfall Moycullen) and her yearling daughter Rimrock Aurora also by Celtic O Sé       

Kaheen my sweet diamond

These 2      

plus a three yr. old  buckskin (dun) filly. Kahean my sweet diamond (Green Hills Trooper Thomas – Glenormiston Diamonds Forever,) made up the growing Robb herd on our visit. All have good old-stock Native breeding with a touch of Thoroughbred and Arab blood.  There are two other mares which were not at home when we called.     

Vanessa with baby Jessica, 6 months

Vanessa brought her sweet baby daughter, six month old Jessica, along when she invited us to see her ponies in rented paddocks on the outskirts of Auckland.  She then gave the recently backed Kohatu Harvest Moon (Holly) an outing in the arena to show off her fine paces.             

For Books, visit  WWW.MARNE.IE     Pics © Niamh’s Weblog      

 Tony and Bridget Turner, South Island Breeders     

Tony Turner is a past President of the New Zealand Connemara Pony Society and is currently the Treasurer.  He and his wife Bridget in South Island have kindly sent Niamh’s Weblog some pictures of their two most recent foals and info. on their breeding.     

1 Patty's Veuve Cosmic with Peadar Murphy, March '09 Clifden

They are the first progeny of a German / Irish Connemara stallion – who traces back to Mountain Lad, MacDara, Doon Paddy, Rebel, Carna Dun and Clonkeehan Auratum among others – to sire New Zealand foals using AI.  The sire of both foals  is Pattys Veuve Cosmic (Pattys Veuve Cliquet X Jacobsdal Blue Bell) shown here at Clifden Stallion Parade in March 2009 with handler Peadar Murphy who stands him in Ireland.      

Colt foal with Timaunga Tara

Tony outlines some of the difficulties in importing Old World blood.  “ Most stallions & mares to come to NZ came/come from Australia. However stallions, Chiltern Sunsilk was imported from GB in 1978 by Sir John Marshall and Ganty Champ from Eire in 1989 by Tom McNamara. The mare Windward (Ire) was imported in 1979 by Mrs Winnie Tatham.   The problem for Northern hemisphere stallion owners is the cost and the length of time involved with preparation of stallions so that semen meets NZ  MAF regulations which are different to any other country.   We are so grateful to Patty Schmidt for going the extra mile and giving us here in New Zealand this opportunity to import these bloodlines.   I think our two colts are the first progeny of Pattys Veuve Cosmic in the southern hemisphere.      

 Born 29th November 2010, Timaunga Kiwi Cosmic’s (palamino) dam, Timaunga Tara, is by Barwidgee Erriff (Connaught of Millfields (Ire) x Barwidgee Frederika (Aust) out of Ridgeway Dream (Blandings Bobby (Aust) x Blandings Juliet (Aust).  Dream’s pedigree goes back to Strongbow, Camlin Cilla, Bridgeboy and Island King.     

Colt foal with Timaunga Chortle

 Haven’t named the bay colt yet! He was born on 9th December 2010. His dam, Timaunga Chortle, is by Barwidgee Erriff out of Canningvale Bonnie Sue (Chiltern Sunsilk x Canningvale Bonnie Jean). Jean’s pedigree goes back to Strongbow, Camlin Cilla, Bridgeboy and Ardan.”           

  Tony and Bridget Turner