American Connemara Pony Society at the 2010 World Equestrian Games
It is the beginning of September and the countdown has begun for the American Connemara Pony Society to the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Lexington, Kentucky. The WEG’s Opening Ceremony is Saturday, September 25th and runs until Sunday, October 10th. Boots are being polished, riders are packing their trunks, and there is excitement in the air – coast to coast!
Over the two weeks of the WEG, the American Connemara Pony Society will be present with 14 pure-bred Connemara ponies giving daily demonstrations in dressage, eventing and driving. There will be stallions, geldings and mares – duns, greys and bays – ridden by Junior and Senior riders. The ACPS will be part of WEG’s “Irish Village”, and, in doing so, hopes to showcase the Connemara Pony as a useful, multi-discipline, working pony. Its innate intelligence as a pony that can learn tricks and techniques will also be on display to a worldwide audience (some of the Connemara Pony demonstration times will be shared with Irish Draught horses – please check the ACPS web site acps.org for Pony bios).
Ireland is blessed with two native equines – coming in horse size and pony size! The Irish Draught is the native Irish horse, and the Connemara Pony is the native Irish pony, named for the West of Ireland where it originated. Over the years, the Connemara Pony has been exported to 17 countries around the world, many of whom now possess their own Connemara Societies. The American Connemara Pony Society itself began in 1956. The ACPS are delighted to have the opportunity and honour to promote and represent the Connemara Pony at the 2010 World Equestrian Games!
Connemara Pony dignitaries plan to visit World Equestrian Games too – Dermot Power, Chair of the Connemara Pony Breeders Society in Ireland and his wife, Carmel, plus the CPBS Secretary, Niamh Philbin, are coming from Ireland.
If you are at WEG, come and see the American Connemara Pony Society booth (#30) in the ‘Irish Village’ near the entrance to the Horse Park. Please take time to check the daily schedule of ridden and/or driven demonstrations for the ‘Village Arena’ (large arena) which runs from 10:00am to 6:30pm every day! We hope to see you and meet you ringside, or in the booth where there will be a volunteer waiting to ‘talk Connemara Ponies’ with you!
WEG Facts
“The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, considered by many horsemen to be more important than the Olympics, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, half way between each pair of consecutive Summer Olympic Games, since 1990.
‘The WEG … include eight of the FEI’s ten disciplines: combined driving, dressage, endurance riding, eventing, para-equestrianism, reining, show jumping, and vaulting.
‘The WEG represent many of the world’s top riders and most skilled horses, who compete over 16 days. Riders competing at WEG go through a rigorous selection process during the 4 years preceding each competition. Each participating country sends teams composed of the very best equestrians in their discipline. Some 57 countries are represented by 800 athletes.
‘The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky, will mark a series of firsts in WEG history: the first time WEG will be held outside of Europe; the first time that championships for eight FEI disciplines will be held at one location, namely the 1,200-acre (4.9 km2) Kentucky Horse Park; and the first time WEG will have a title sponsor (in this case the corporation Alltech, an animal health and nutrition group … headquartered in the nearby city of Nicholasville).”
Extracted from Wikipedia article here.
LINKS:
Visit the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Website:
Visit the FEI Website.
A great deal of gratitude is due to our friends and fellow breeders in America.They are putting our native breed “The Connemara Pony” in front of the eyes of the World.This is magnificent not just for the pony but for our country in general. The potential of this opportunity is mind boggling. I do hope that the marketing committee of our national breed society have an itemised/organised agenda for our two delegates that will represent all our members and breeders at the games to help them capitalise on this event. It would be a shame to go unprepared.
Hi, Eamonn,
What fun to see the reporting of the World Equestrian Games (WEG) on your website! Our daughter, Lee, was one of those “showcasing” the Connemara Pony in the daily WEG demos. She rode a homebred dun gelding, Stonybrook Belmont, whose grandsire was *Grange Finn Sparrow–obviously, “Monty” is a talented jumper. We came home with wonderful memories of our participation there and the many world-class competitions we had the privilege of seeing “first-hand.” It was our pleasure to be part of the ACPS “WEG Welcoming Committee” for CPBS President, Dermot Power and his wife, Carmel, as well as for Niamh Philbin, CPBS Secretary.
We join all ACPS members in thanking the CPBS for a very generous financial contribution to the success of the Connemara Pony representation at WEG and for the handsome, colorful and informational trifold which was given to visitors stopping by Connemara Pony Booth #30 in the “Irish Village” at the Kentucky Horse Park.
All my best to our “friends across the pond,”
Joanie Webster