Michael Joe with a cart load of turnips

Nóra with a mare and foal

Michael Joe with one of his beloved draught mares

As many of our readers know, the second chapter of The Moycullen Ponymen is devoted to the life and times of the caraeraí, the carters who worked daily with their ponies and carts. Michael Joe Keady, a lifelong caraer from Drimavohane, was a valuable source of knowledge and anecdotes when the Moycullen Ponymen was been written and is extensively quoted.
His only Connemara pony was Mountain Pride (1608). Never bred she was a bad tempered black mare and a terrific working pony, acclaimed for her speed and stamina on the road. Michael Joe worked her for several years before changing to Irish draughts which he worked for the following forty years. He jaunted, posted, carted, tilled and harvested with them. Michael Joe still breeds a Draught foal every year. Maybe he needed the bigger animal to match his own great strength and physique. He remains a consummate horseman. His wife Nóra is equally knowledgeable and passionate about horses. Reflecting on his lifetime working horses on his land in Drimavohane he said “I loved every minute of it, I’d do it all over again.”

Gura fada buan sibh beirt.

Tullykyne Princess

Princess' son Tullykyne Prince by Hazy Match

Princess' daughter Síoda by I Love You Melody

We hear from Myles Feeney in Tullykyne, Moycullen that he is leasing his Ashbrook bred mare Tullykyne Princess (Kestrel 1st X Tulira Robuck) for the coming year. Princess and her foals have had a lot of success in the show-ring but Myles feels that he does not want to breed another foal in the present climate. The leasee will keep next year’s foal and get the mare in foal again before Myles takes her back. It seems an ideal arrangement to suit everyone and maybe an interesting model for other mare owners who are not keen to have foals but would like to keep their mares breeding without cost. Interestingly Kestrel who is California owned is leased to Jocelyn Davies at Devon Ridge Farm in Canada where she is a valued brood mare.

Young Ashbrook geldings on winterage

Ashbrook Glen (Meelickisland Pearl and Glencarrig Prince)

We head into Winter after six consecutive days of sales at Clifden and Maam Cross. As prices for ponies continue at a low we will take a break from them to celebrate Moycullen’s historic breakthrough on the hurling fields. Last Sunday in Athenry, Moycullen Intermediate hurlers defeated Killiomardaly in their County Final and were thus promoted to the Senior ranks for the first time since 1979. Moycullen won a splendid final powered by a dominant half back line of Seosamh O’Fatharta, Mark Lydon and Tomas Ó hUigín, the faultless accuracy of Eanna Noone from placed balls and the finishing finesse of Conor Bohan.

Moycullen is now the only parish in Galway to boast two senior teams-hurling and football, not to mention a basketball team playing in the National Superleague and one of the best handball clubs in the country. Maybe we will just forget the ponies for the coming year and follow the fortunes of the sportsmen in their quest for further glory.

The first step is to establish which shipping Agent you wish to use. In conjunction with them the procedure is as follows:

All animals entering the US must have negative results for the following – Coggins, Piroplasmosis, Dourine and Glanders. You must arrange for the vet to visit the pony and take four red-top vials of blood from the pony, which are then sent to the US Department of Agriculture in the United States for testing. As soon as you have received conformation that the results are negative, your Agents can then proceed with his arrangements. They will also arrange for the vet to complete all the necessary Health Papers.

Most bloodstock shippers have a truck leaving for the continent every week or fortnight and can easily arrange co-loads with other agents in Europe for a flight. The Ponies would take a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead in the UK and then travel down to Dover, where they will rest for 10 hours before taking a ferry to Calais in France. They then continue their journey to a stabling facility such as the Amstel Horse Hotel near Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. They will rest here for a further 24hrs before going to Schipol Airport to be loaded onto the flight for the USA. They are normally accompanied by a professional groom to ensure proper care and safe delivery.

‘Contagious Equine Metritis’ is a sexually transmitted disease that is spread by breeding horses. Therefore, sexually immature horses, fillies, geldings and spayed mares are exempt from CEM Quarantine upon arrival in the United States – i.e. CEM quarantine is not required for colts/fillies under 731 days (2 years of age), but all colts and fillies over 2 years of age must complete the CEM quarantine process. All ponies are required to complete quarantine (3 days) prior to being released to the owner. Ponies over the age of 2 years may have a 3, 7 or 60 day quarantine imposed. May I suggest anyone interested reads from the following link: vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ceh/quarantine.cfm.

The approximate cost of shipping to the USA is €6000. However like everything else price comparison is advised.

It is also important to note that passports and insurance are a necessary prerequisite.

I hope this explains the whole process. If you have any further queries please contact me at info@irishpony.com.

• The Kingdom of Belgium is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations including NATO.
• It covers an area of almost 12,000 square miles, and it has a population of about 10.7 million people.
• Belgium is a federal state. There are three Regions in the country – the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region, and the Brussels-Capital Region.
• The Flemish Region is largely Dutch speaking, while the Walloon Region is largely French speaking.
• The linguistic split is also a divisive political one. Each Region has its own parliament, with the parliaments of the Flemish and Walloon Regions also representing those of Flemish or Walloon identity within the Brussels-Capital Region. Public institutions in Brussels therefore often offer a bewildering complexity.

What does this have to do with Connemara Ponies?

• The Connemara, as it does in so many different countries and climes around the world, is doing quite well in Belgium too. There is a Belgian Connemara Pony Society that only last year touted the success of the 14.1hh mare D’Jill in becoming the first European pony to win the British Society’s Performance Awards
• The Belgian Society, however, became identified by breeders from the Walloon Region as being predominantly representative of the more northern, Flemish, breeders and ponies.





• As a result of this, the Belgium ASBL Connemara Pony Association (BCPA) was founded in 2005 and was recognised by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Walloon Region.
• The BCPA are not yet a member of the International Committee of Connemara Pony Societies.
• The BCPA have been successful in organising their own shows and inspections over the intervening years, and keeps its own stud book.
• Click on the the thumbnails below to have a closer look at Davidoff and Chamade de Renival, to ponies bred by Antoine Rens, one of the leading lights of the BCPA.

Davidoff de Renival

Chamade de Renival

Frank E. Webner, Pony Express rider ~ ca. 1861.

150 years ago today (April 4th 1860), at about at about 7:15 p.m. Missouri time, Kentuckian Johnny Fry rode out from the stables in St. Joseph, Missouri. He carried with him a pouch containing 49 letters, five private telegrams, and a copy of the St. Joseph Gazette within a mochila (from the Spanish for pouch). That mochila was then ridden across the prairies, plains, deserts, and mountains of the states of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada, before finally finishing the one thousand, nine hundred and sixty-six mile trip at the the San Francisco Alta telegraph office, California, at 1:00 a.m, April 14th. It was the first ride of the Pony Express.

This incredible venture is largely the story of one man, Alexander Majors, and brought to us through history by the self-promotion of another: Billy Cody. It was also the last hurrah of natural horsepower against the inexorable advance of technology in the West.

Majors was a businessman, through and through, and a hard worker. By the age of twenty, he had married and bought his own farm. In 1848, he formed his own wagon freighting company hauling merchandise to Santa Fe. In 1853, he was hauling military supplies to Fort Union – often personally. Majors developed a reputation for the being the best freighter in the West. He was ever the field man, overseeing the actual running of the wagons on the trail. He was responsible for the establishment of the Kansas City stockyards, and hence largely to be thanked for the growth and prosperity of Kansas City’s commercial fortunes. Within ten years Majors was employing some 4,000 men, running a meat-packing plant, operating his wagon trains, and supplying those same trains with the cured pork, soap and candles needed for the trip. He was, needless to say, hugely successful.

On July 9, 1857, a somewhat less-heralded (and yet, momentous) achievement occurred, one that would doubtless have been keenly watched by the entrepreneurial Majors. The ‘San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line’ began a bi-monthly service from San Antonio, Texas over the distance of fifteen hundred miles all the way to San Diego, California. The reason most modern readers will not have heard of this noble venture is probably due to the fact that it became known under the very ignoble name of the “Jackass Mail” – due to the last 180 miles (between Fort Yuma and San Diego) being covered on mule-back rather than stagecoach. The Jackass Mail would nevertheless run for over a year until December 1858.

In that year, a rival organisation – the Butterfield Overland Stage – began rolling from St. Louis on September 15. Their destination, twice-weekly, was to get their passengers and mail all the way to San Francisco (and all the way by stage). Each run, however, encompassed 2,812 miles and yet had to be completed in 25 days or less in order to qualify for the $600,000 government grant for mail service. Their chosen route also crossed states that were in the early rumblings of rebellion. It was now that Majors (in partnership with two other men, Russell and Waddell, as the ‘Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company’) entered the trans-continental race.

Proposing a direct route west, straight accross the heart of the country, and using mounted riders rather than stagecoaches, the three men hoped to establish their service as a faster and more reliable conduit for the mail and win that exclusive and valuable government mail contract. Majors had acquired more than 500 horses for the project (averageing about 14½ hands high; thus, the title of ‘Pony’ Express was appropriate), and hired over 200 men to stock relay stations every twelve miles along the route. This was roughly the maximum distance a horse could travel at full gallop. The rider changed to a fresh horse at each station, taking only the mochila with him. It was often remarked that the horse and rider should perish before the mochila was lost.

Each pony was being asked to carry the 20 pounds of mail in the mochila, along with a further 20 pounds consisting of a water sack, a Bible, a horn for alerting the relay station master to prepare the next horse, a revolver, and a choice of a rifle or another revolver. Eventually, everything except one revolver and a water sack was removed, allowing for a theoretical total of 165 pounds on the pony’s back. Riders, who could not weigh over 125 pounds, changed about every 75–100 miles (120–160 km), and rode day and night. In emergencies, a given rider might ride two stages back to back – that’s over 20 hours galloping ponies over wilderness. We do not know how long those worthy ponies lasted in this career, but we do know that the Express wanted riders that were preferably under the age of 25, and orphans. Some riders were as young as fourteen. The express route was extremely hazardous, but only one mail delivery was ever lost. The full distance was travelled in ten days.

To compensate riders for the dangers they faced from miscreants, Native Americans, and from the land itself, the company was forced to offer exorbitantly high wages of $25 a week, twenty five times the average for unskilled labour. As a result, postage rates for the Express stood at $5 per half-ounce. At those rates – the equivalent of a $100 today – only the most important letters and telegrams were transported in this fashion. Letters were written on the thinnest paper and rates such as $2.50 the quarter-ounce were introduced to encourage more lightweight letter writers. Even so, the Pony Express was a huge leap forward in communication with California. One San Fransiscan news editor remarked:

“One by one, the chains of darkness and desert are broken, and we are brought nearer and nearer to our brethern on the other side of the continent… Wherever men think, and books are read, there the Pony Express to California will be heard of, and the news welcomed.”

By the end of 1860, both the Butterfield stage company and the partnership of Russell, Majors, and Waddell were in serious financial difficulty. The Government contract was yet to be awarded, and both companies had been operating at a loss for some time. In March of that year, John Butterfield was forced out of his firm due to debt. The eastern end of the route was taken over by Ben Holladay. At the western end, Denver to San Francisco, the stage company was taken over by Wells Fargo. Although the Pony Express riders such as Johnny Fry proved that the central/northern mail route was viable and much faster, Russell, Majors and Waddell did not get the contract to deliver mail over the route. The contract was instead awarded to the more southerly, Congressionally favored, Butterfield Overland Stage in March 1861. The ‘Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express’ was becoming known as the ‘Clean Out of Cash and Poor Pay Express’.

Alexander Majors

It was only the outbreak of civil war that saved the Pony Express from immediate dissolution. With the south now inaccessible to the stage coaches, the Pony Express was now a strategically crucial link between the Union’s west and east coasts. It was by pony that California heard of the election of Lincoln, the seccession of South Carolina, and the firing on Fort Sumter. Daring young riders like Billy Cody were now the lifeblood of information and knowledge of what was happening in the wider world as events raced forward.

It did not change the fact, however, that the Pony Express was in deep financial trouble; its fees did not cover its costs and, without government subsidies and lucrative mail contracts, it could not make up the difference. Wells Fargo took over the western portion of the Pony Express route from Salt Lake City to San Francisco. Russell, Majors & Waddell continued to operate the eastern leg from Salt Lake City to St. Joseph, Missouri, under subcontract. But by then, technology was already threatening. Telegraphs and railroads were a reality. The telegraph spelled the final doom of the incredible Pony Express when it went bankrupt in October 1861 after the opening of the Transcontinental Telegraph, and the extension in train services killed off Majors’ freighting and stage coach operations at the same time.

In 1867, he moved his family to Salt Lake City where he was engaged in grading roadbeds and furnishing ties and telegraph poles to the Union Pacific Railway. When the transcontinental railway was completed, Majors was present at the ceremonial driving of the Gold Spike on May 20, 1869. He spent some time prospecting in Utah, and in then in 1880 was a “mining broker” in Helena, Montana. In 1887, just as he was turning 73 years old, he was in Omaha trying to scratch a living making soap.

It was after a final move to Denver Colorado, old, ill, penniless, and trying to write his memoirs, that former young wagonmaster and Pony Express rider, William F. Cody, found him. In the almost 30 intervening years (after serving as a civilian scout and being awarded the Medal of Honour), Cody had fallen in with dime novelist Ned Buntline. Through his novels, Buntline would transform the reality of Cody into the mythical figure of ‘Buffalo Bill’. Ever the showman and self-promoter, Cody went on to enhance and promote the legend of the Pony Express. He produced and starred in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, travelling the world with one of the most successful and largest exhibitions of its day. It included Annie Oakley, Sitting Bull, and – of course – a highly popular Pony Express segment. Cody helped Majors, taking him along as part of the show. Majors even lived at Cody’s 4,000 acre ‘Scouts Rest Ranch’ in North Platte, Nebraska for a time. Majors returned there to die at 86, thirteen days into a new century – the story of his remarkable young men and their ponies surviving him into the modern age.

Just as we kept tabs on the passing of stallions in ’09, we hope to do the same now in 2010, updating this post as new developments occur throughout the year.

Olympia is a large exhibition hall in West London and its Grand Hall has long been associated with horse shows and other events involving animals. The famous Bertram Mills Circus performed at Olympia every Christmas until 1964 and the Royal International Horse Show was first held there in 1907. At the Royal International Horse Show in June, 1912, there was a Parade of Types of British and Continental Horses and Ponies. Michael O’Malley made the long journey from Rosmuc with his stallion, the Irish Dragoon, and a cream mare, Eileen Alanna. These were definitely the first Connemara ponies to appear at Olympia.

In 1978, the Council of the National Pony Society started a new Championship for Ridden Mountain and Moorland ponies culminating with a final at what was then the new London International Horse Show at Olympia which ran for nearly a week just before Christmas. This show has taken place every year since 1978 and has become an important part of the pre–Christmas build up for all horse and pony enthusiasts.

From the beginning, this new championship was a great success. Twenty-five qualifiers were held at prestigious shows all over England, Scotland and Wales. A unique part of the competition was that each of the nine native breeds were awarded a qualifier at their society’s Breed Show. This ensured that there was always a representative of each native breed at the final at Olympia. Each qualifier is divided into five classes as follows:-

First and second ponies from each class compete for a championship at the show. The Champion pony goes forward to the final at Olympia. Since 2008 it has been possible for ponies to qualify under the Wild Card system. Under this system ponies who are placed first in each class, or placed second to the champion in the champion’s class, qualify for the NPS M&M Supreme Ridden Championship (Olympia) Restricted Wild Card Final which is held at the NPS Summer Championship show. The Wild Card system does not apply at Breed Shows.

In 1978, three Connemaras qualified for Olympia and Mrs Fleming’s big prizewinner, Tulira Rocket, stood seventh. The following year Rocket qualified again at the Breed Show, but this time the highest placed Connemara was another Irish bred Garryhack Midnight Sheilog. Interestingly, in 1979, two of the four Connemaras were plaited and two were shown with their manes loose. 1980 brought the first of many Connemara champions, with Ruth and Blanche Miller’s wonderful mare Rosenaharley Laurin sweeping all before her to take the title. Laurin won the Open Ridden class at the ECPS Ridden Show the following year, but as she had already qualified, the Olympia ticket went to Hester Knight’s Abbeyleix Lucinda. By all accounts, Laurin went better than ever at Olympia but she had to settle for Reserve to the Welsh Sec B, Norwood Principle Boy. For the next four years, a Connemara stood under the spotlight as Champion at Olympia, and the popularity of the breed was sky high. Grayswood Village Peregrine was 1982 Champion, followed by Rosenaharley Rossleague who emulated her stable mate by claiming the title two years running in 1983 and 1984. Rossleague was back at Olympia in 1985, but had to give way to Phineas Phinn who turned the tables on her and took the Championship. The Connemaras seemed invincible! However, the other breeds fought back and, over the next few years, the standard and quality of all ponies that made it to Olympia continued to increase.

In 1991 a new system of judging was introduced, and ponies’ conformation was judged in a small roped off area at the end of the ring. This meant that there was now enough room for each pony to give a “proper” show and a gallop. This must have suited the Connemaras as, when the results were given in reverse order, Grayswood Village Skylark was Reserve which could only mean that the Connemaras had claimed both Champion and Reserve and this was confirmed when the five year old Tiercel Mystical was called forward to receive the Champion’s sash. No less that seven Connemaras were forward to represent the breed in 1995, and with those sort of numbers it was no surprise that there were two in the first six. Kirtling Brigadoon sired both the fifth placed pony, Sydserff Golden Oak and the Champion ( a former stallion) Marwoods Doon Caedmon.

There followed a very lean period with plenty of qualifiers but no Connemara champion between 1996 and 2003. The stallion Castle Comet, who came to Olympia as a firm favourite in 2004 having been Champion of Champions at the Horse of the Year Show in 2002, took the Championship and was led of out of the ring at the end of the class having been retired by Vanessa Compton, his proud owner. This heralded another ‘purple patch’ for the Connemaras at Olympia. Bunowen Castle Ri, another stallion, like Castle Comet, bred in the heart of Connemara, qualified for Olympia in 2004 but was perhaps a little too immature to be placed. He came back again in 2005 and looked a champion from the moment he set foot in the ring. He took the title and was the ninth Connemara to be champion since 1978. No other breed has won the championship as many times. Ri came back to Olympia in 2006 as a firm favourite to win the title for a second time. Sadly a not quite perfect performance cost him first place and he had to settle for third. Undaunted, Ri and his connections were back in 2008. He gave a foot-perfect show to take his rightful place at the top of the line. His owner, Jackie Webb, immediately announced his retirement from ridden classes. The aptly named Ri is only the second pony to win at Olympia twice, the other one being another Connemara – Rosenaharley Rossleague.

The NPS Ridden M&M Championship has attracted its fair share of controversy and criticism over the years. It would be very unusual for such a prestigious competition, where there is so much at stake, for there not to be. Fortunately, the judges on the NPS Panel are a courageous bunch and it is still considered a great honour to be one of the two judges at the final. I think it is fair to say that the majority of the ponies that qualify for Olympia are produced by professionals and many of them have professional riders. The most popular and successful professionals have been know to qualify as many as three or four ponies in one season for clients. Obviously he or she can only ride one pony at the final. The NPS Council have sought the views of the membership in two ballots as to whether a rider should be able to qualify more than one pony. The membership voted in favour of a rider, having qualified one pony, being ineligible to compete in any more qualifiers. Understandably the professionals are not pleased with this ruling which comes into force for the 2010 competition. It will be interesting to see what the consequences are.

In 2009 there were four Connemaras forward at Olympia. A special mention must be made of Henry O’Toole’s Cashelbay Joe who qualifed in the North of Ireland ridden by Emma O’Toole. The O’Toole family and their pony followed in Michael O’Malleys footsteps and made the long journey from Connemara to Olympia. I feel sure it was a day that Emma will never forget. Sadly, and very unusually, there were no Connemaras in the first six. The standard was very high and the other breeds showed us a clean pair of heels. The deserving winner was a New Forest pony. I hope the New Forest enthusiasts make the most of their victory as Connemaras and their owners are a tough breed and I feel sure that a Connemara will be back under the spotlight before too long.