• 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.

The European Championships at “De Silveren Spoor”

With excellent sporting facilities ensuring high-quality competition, and with a total of 48 dressage ponies, 46 eventers, 49 show jumpers, and 39/33 competitors in the CSIP Small/Large Tour (a total of 215 ponies of all disciplines), the European Championships at Moorsele in Belgium drew the best competitors from countries ranging from Turkey to Norway and – of course – Ireland.

Twenty purebred Connemara ponies accounted for a huge 9.3% the competitors present (up from 16 in 2008, and 14 in 2007) and there were another 14 partbreds (18 in 2008) – taking the total Connemara influence up to nearly 16 % of all competitors. Sadly there are still quite a number of ponies competing registered with the Irish Horse Board or with no breeding details given, so the total might even be higher up.

Of the twenty purebreds, eleven were reputedly bred in Ireland, the remainder bred in France where the Connemara Pony also has an excellent reputation as a competition pony. Nine nations had Connemara purebreds flying their flags: France foremost with a total of five ponies competing in all disciplines, with Ireland in second place with four competitors in show jumping and eventing, and another one each from countries such as Poland, Luxemburg, Norway and Switzerland. It clearly shows that there is not just a big demand for good ponies in general, but that the Connemara breed has established itself at the top in the eyes of the international market.

Thursday:

Verdi for Team Sweden

The German Dressage team secured an expected gold medal, followed by a very close result from Team Netherlands. Highlight of the day was Soenke Rothenberger (GER) on his stallion Deinhard B with a sensational score of 75,056 %. The Bronze Medal went to Denmark. Team Sweden came in at sixth place with Verdi, a roan stallion, the best performer – he is a partbred whose dam is by Lofty Roderic, the senior stallion (now retired) at Nina and Anders Gustafson’s well known Lofty Stud in Sweden. Team France had Italic des Landes in their team, a bay purebred Connemara pony stallion from such stock as River des Landes and Robber Boy S604, reaching 7th place with their team. Italic has also competed at the Europeans the two previous years. Most unusual for the day was the noise from the sky divers, practising at a school next door and above, but it seemed to bother humans more than ponies!

Friday:
Eventing Dressage came up with extraordinary results from the Connemara Pony point of view, with partbreds Trewithian Bracken (by Ashfield Mac Talla ECPSS72) ridden by Sophie Martin (GBR) taking second place, and Ice Cool Bailey ridden by Ireland’s Joseph O’Brien securing third place ahead of 2008 double gold medallist Nina Stegemann (GER) with Mr. Hale Bob. Joseph O’Brien, the son of world famous racehorse trainer Aidan O’Brien, was the second last to go and did a splendid test. The previous year Ice Cool Bailey competed with Gina Ruck for Team Great Britain and took Team Silver and came into 4th place individually. First place went to German riding pony Dorina with Jule Wewer. Best purebred was Isbiratel de Conquet from France by Abbeyleix Fionn S810, coming in at 21st place.

Saturday:
Individual dressage gold found a great home with Antoinette Te Riele (NED) with the just 7-y-o Golden Girl, who produced a splendid round scoring 74,0 %, ahead of her cousin Sönke Rothenberger (GER) with Deinhard B who took silver and Katharina Weychert (GER) on Golden Derano C taking bronze, all ponies being German riding ponies. Good news for Connemara’s from the show jumping however: Team Denmark took gold with a total of 8p. and Connemara Pony Murphy’s Flight added just one pole, ridden by Christiane Tetzlaff. The two previous years, Murphy’s Flight was on the Irish team, ridden by Shane Connell, member of the 2007 bronze medal team. Ireland took Silver with 12p. and had two Connemaras competing with Sillogue Darkie G3-3906, ridden by Michael Duffy, and Ballyowen Maybelle Molly M1-16356 ridden by Kelly Allen, both scoring one pole. With a total of 16 p. Germany finished with a bronze. While Darkie (Ard Talisman S897 and Grange Sand Sparrow S589 in his pedigree) competed in Freudenberg 2007 with Jessica Burke before – a bronze medal winning team – it was the just 7-y-o Molly’s (Monaghanstown Fred S922 and Callowfeenish Mairtin S846) first appearance at the Europeans after a marvellous season at home. Both ponies are great ambassadors of the breed and paraded at Clifden Show in a special display, much admired by the huge crowd. And a receipe for Team Gold! The new Danish Coach sent the riders off to relax in front of a movie between the two rounds…

At this point, the ranking for the individual final had Murphy’s Flight, Sillogue Darkie and Ballyowen Maybelle Molly all in second place after Jessica Vinther Jensen from Denmark on her star pony Nikolina.

Sunday:
Eventing Cross-Country met with the National Cross-Country and the final day of the Europeans was postponed to Monday. The course itself did not present problems but was not asking too much cleverness of the ponies either – good going for most competitors in what were again excellent conditions. The leading Jule Wewer (GER) with Dorina kept her dressage result, as did Joseph O’Brien (IRL) on Ice Cool Bailey with Nina Stegemann (GER) riding Mr. Hale Bob moving up one position each. A bad day for Trewithian Bracken, who had two refusals and went down to 38th place, while Isbiratel de Conquet improved to 13th place.

After the Cross-Country, Team Belgium claimed the leading dressage score of 139 p., ahead of Germany’s four clear rounds scoring 141p. Team Great Britain with Trewithian Bracken went from 141 p. after dressage to 3rd place scoring 147.40 p. Team France was in 5th place, Team Ireland came 7th.

The CSIP tests were well supported by Connemara ponies: I’x de l’Aulne by Dexter Leam Pondi IS 15 (now retired) competed with a new rider for Sweden in the Large Tour, as did Lydia d’Airolle by Sultan of Scarpe who came 3rd for Switzerland in her best result, and Lancelot des Mares by Ronan de la Dive, a partbred, stood to win the Final CSIP Large Tour for France. Atlantic Lady M10965 by Cloonisle Cashel S980 came third for Denmark in the Small Tour Final.

Monday’s finals:
Eventing Show Jumping became rather dramatic when – in reverse order – both Nina Stegemann (GER, third last to go) and Joseph O’Brien (IRL, second last to go) knocked the very last fence. The Gold medal eventually went to Jule Wewer (GER) and Dorina, Pieter Kenis (BEL) and Rocky took Silver and Joseph O’Brien with Ice Cool Bailey took the bronze. What a tremendous achievement! In the team results, Germany took Gold with 145 p., Silver went to Great Britain with 155.4 p. and Bronze to Belgium with 171 p.

The Dressage Freestyle competition, a new and most interesting event for the best 15 dressage ponies, proved Antoinette Te Riele (NED) and Golden Girl were in excellent form, taking another Gold with 75,9 p. Silver was awarded to Katharina Weychert (GER) with Golden Derano C and Bronze going to the mere 13-y-o Dana van Lierop (NED) with Equestricons Lord Champion, all of them giving splendid rides to the music. Amazingly enough Verdi, the just 8-y-o stallion from Sweden, finished in 7th place awarded to a very “going” display.

Italic des Landes for Team France

Show Jumping Individual finals was ridden in two rounds with Christiane Tetzlaff (DEN) and Murphy’s Flight and Kelly Allen (IRL) on Ballyowen Maybelle Molly having a final jump-off for the gold and silver medals. The two Connemara ponies did great rounds again, but at the very last fence of the show the second starter Murphy’s Flight had a refusal – Gold went to Kellie Allen, Silver to Christiane Tetzlaff and Bronze was taken by Chad Fellows (GBR) with Snatch. Sillogue Darkie finished in 7th place, in 19th place was Idefix du Villon, a French purebred from Quignon du Parc and Urrachree Breeze S436, competing for Luxemburg for the second year.

It was very nice to see so many well-known and new pony faces in the Europeans and it is always interesting to trace their breeding – if the information is available. The Championships are surely a highlight during the season, usually held by the end of July. The next host will be Great Britain and it would be nice to meet some more Connemara Pony enthousiasts there.

2009 Europeans was a huge success for the Connemara Pony breed – being the strongest native pony breed, making a huge appearance with the partbreds, counting three individual medals as well as four ponies in the team medals – this must be the best result ever! So far there were just two Golds: Ashfield Bobby Sparrow S444 (IRL) in Show Jumping and Linå Vesterskovs Cecil (DEN) in Dressage, and it was good to hear that Molly went to a new competition home in Belgium. Maybe we will see her – and you – in Bishop Burton this year?

[View with PicLens]

Recognising what the rest of the world identifies as the Connemara Pony’s greatest talent.

Often breed societies founded on type are criticised for lack of change and not promoting modern “functional conformation”, so it was particularly refreshing to see the emergence of a class for jumping talent identification at one of the worlds most prestigious pony shows.

The free jumping competition – well sponsored by Diamond’s of Renvyle – had a stand out winner, making the task of the astute judge Tom O’Dwyer relatively straight forward. The winner, Grange Bobby Sparrow, not only possesses a great jumping talent, but the 3 year-old was also handled and presented to perfection. In line with a true performance class, the winner entered the arena as a performance horse well schooled, in working condition, and handled in a fashion allowing him to exhibit the full athletic ability his heritage has provided. Grange Bobby Sparrow was not rushed or chased through the jumping grid but rather allowed to take the time to measure the task and demonstrate his ability, with a particularly tight front, a soft round shape over the fence – finished with a back end to die for. He set the standard not only in ability but presentation and preparation. The general standard of presentation for the lead classes traditionally held at Clifden is second to none; the trade of presenting a horse at its best in-hand is well practiced and seems to be second nature to most. The free jumping however is a relatively new class and there is a range of presentations, from the likes of Grange Bobby Sparrow spiralling to some enthusiastic less polished newcomers. I am sure that as time progresses all performance exhibitors will be equally experienced and the competition will be down to the ponies alone and the breed will truly benefit. The level of spectator interest in this class I hope will encourage the organising committee to develop some more performance friendly areas. I managed to secure a spot on top of a gate post to watch the event but many others were not so fortunate and had very poor viewing. I had the feeling that the success of the event took the show by surprise and that they were not quite ready for the spectator enthusiasm , I am sure they will be ready next year.

I had been told in Australia prior to my visit that “Clifden was the home of lead ponies and, while they were quality well bred ponies, no-one rides them and they don’t really do anything with them”. I now know the truth! The Friday afternoon Puissance Showjumping was pure genius on the show committee’s behalf. A huge crowd settled to watch the ultimate test of pure jumping scope. Spectators were treated to an epic struggle between a professionally turned out grey and a young lady riding with pure ambition and enthusiasm. The wall peaked at 140cm after five rounds, the grey jumped with style and scope demonstrating professional training and riding, many were discounting the other combination at this height. However, in true Connemara fashion, the heart and raw talent of a very inexperienced combination won the hearts of all when they scraped over the wall to settle the account to finish equal first. A fantastic result and show case for the breed.

The puissance followed a day of Working Hunter classes that included some natural obstacles that many combinations did not jump so naturally. There was an excitement to see just how talented the Connemara ponies really are. The course designer had worked tirelessly to fashion a course to showcase the jumping abilities of the ponies. As a cross country and showjumping course designer in Australia I was very interested to see how the ponies handled the challenges presented. Unfortunately many of the combinations came up short on training and experience, hesitating at the technical difficulty of a curved related line to a “narrow style” through the arena fence followed by another related line to a drop off a creatively designed bank. However, the riders will now know what to expect and I am sure will rise to meet the challenges of the future.

The Clifden show committee is to be heralded for taking the step – should I say ‘Jump’? – to include performances classes and establish a show case where the best of pedigree and type share their stage with the performance campions of the future for the world to come to admire and maybe acquire.

The highlights of his first big year back in 2003 included: First Place in the National Championships (held at the European Championships event at Necarne Castle, N.Ireland) and Second Place in the RDS 148cm ‘A’ All-Ireland Championship. Other domestic results included Grand Prix wins at Cavan, Kells, Mullingar, Killossery, Newbridge and the Kill International Show to name but a few. In their first international outing against the best ponies in Europe the pair came First in the Gazette de Liege Trophy in Liege, Belgium.

In 2004, with Benny Kuehnle as pilot, Sillogue Darkie came back and won the 148cm ‘A’ All-Ireland Championship at the RDS, a famous double was achieved one week later when they were placed First in the Millstreet Grand Prix. Finishing Second in the Pony Super League at Belfast International Show, the treble of Dublin, Cork and Belfast was narrowly denied by less than a second. Abroad they were also victorious, finishing First in the English Home Pony International Grand Prix. At the famous Arezzo venue in Tuscany, Northern Italy, the pair won the Nations Cup with the Irish team, incredibly with no discard score as only three ponies were available to compete. At the same venue they also placed Fourth in the Grand Prix.

In 2005, and this time pairing with David Blake, the winning form continued. The pair took part in the Irish victory at the Coupe des Nations in Fontainebleau, France and placed Third in the CSIOP Grand Prix at the same venue. Among their notable other achievements for 2005 was winning the Wales & West Home Counties International, being placed First again in Millstreet, third in the 148cm ‘A’ All-Ireland Championship at the RDS and competing with the Irish show-jumping team that placed Second at Verona, Italy in the Nations Cup.

Success in the 2006 and 2007 seasons were curtailed by a viral illness. However, despite this, Darkie still managed to participate (with David Blake) at the European Championships, in Saumur, France. In 2007, under Galway native Jessica Burke, Sillogue Darkie went on to win a bronze medal with the Irish team at the European Championships in Freudenberg, Germany.

In 2008, and again with Jessica Burke, Sillogue Darkie dominated the Irish Premier Pony League, finishing far ahead of their nearest rivals with Grand Prix wins at Louth County Show, Ballymena and Mullingar. In addition to being the Leading Pony of the Year the highlight for the Briscoe family was their Darkie being selected by the Council of the Connemara Pony Breeders Society to become a member of the Connemara Pony Hall of Fame.

With new rider Micheal Duffy on board in 2009, the Connemara gelding started the season by coming Third in the Louth County Show and then winning the RDS Qualifier at Cavan Equestrian Centre. One week later at the European Trials in Barnadown the pair incredibly achieved three days of clear rounds at the highest International standards. This was followed by finishing joint second as part of the Irish Team in the Nations Cup in Wierden, Holland. Keeping this form at the CSIP Grand Prix in Neeroeteren, Belgium Darkie finished Second, narrowly edged out of victory by just 0.77 of a second.

The undoubted highlight was playing a key role in the Irish team bringing home the Silver medals from the European Championships in Moorsele, Belgium last summer and then finishing Seventh in the Individual European Championship Competition. In addition this famous Connemara was the recipient of the Horse Sport Ireland sponsored Overall Leading Premier League Pony in 2009 for the second consecutive season.

This pony has already won the Silver and Bronze at European level – we can only wait in anticipation for the complete set, when Sillogue Darkie is finally crowned with the Individual Gold medal he truly deserves. Congratulations, well done, and best wishes for the future to Darkie and the Briscoe family!

The have both brought the focus of attention to the innate athleticism and jumping ability of certain strains of Connemara Pony which combines the intelligence and ‘fifth leg’ of the pony with the scope of the thoroughbred. We must not forget, of course, Ballyowen Maybelle Molly whose stunning string of successes in 2009, culminating in the Moorselle gold medal win, made her a winner of our earlier ‘Pony of the Year‘ poll.

Because of the international arena in which they operate, the successful showjumpers have inestimable marketing potential for the breed, which is something that the in-hand champions can never match, however much we admire their grace and beauty.

The poll also reflects a changing trend in the connemara world, where the performance animal is being respected more and more and is challenging the former pre-eminince of the in-hand favourites. People are increasingly looking for performance potential and taking an interest in the specific lines that have proven success.

Regrettably, as Dan O Brien informed us, we did not include Templebready Fear Buí. This stallion has distinguished himself by producing top class performance progeny and specifically so when put over thoroughbred mares. This is yet another way of marketing the native breed and none does it better than Fear Buí. The latest issue of the American Connemara is devoted to ‘Saluting Half-bred Connemaras‘ and Marynell Eyles has a very informative article on their success in America. The half-bred sector is a hugely important one.

The other ponies featured in the Poll fall into various categories. Currachmore Cashel (who had such a dream year in ’09), Glencarraig Prince and Hazy Match represent the stallions who are so popular in Ireland with breeders who give priority to the in-hand circuit. Mares like Coral Misty, April Rose, and Castle Urchin represent the matriarchs who have had great success throughout their lives on that same circuit. April Star and Jennifer Rose are great broodmares whose progeny proclaim their excellence. Then, if the poll were conducted in Australia or America, ponies like Castle Baron and Alladin’s Denver would surely have had a bigger impact.

Long before the CPBS was founded, Cannonball won acclaim for his excellence as a racing pony. Farmers bred their mares to him for pace and dash and reflected glory. Looks did not come into it. It was only with the Inspections, that began in 1924, that the look of a pony or its conformation became more important than its temperament and its ability to do a job. When the working farm ponies left the scene mid-century, conformation and the in-hand shows became the only criteria. Now, as we approach ninety years of the Society’s life, what the ponies can do is once again becoming the yardstick for success. So, having Darkie and Dexter top of the pile sounds just right! Well done to them both. It’s been fun.

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This story was told by Gearoid Curran (more or less as you read it) based on a real incident involving the stallion Fort Doolin (S1-719)

The pony’s trot beat out a fast rhythm on the road, the harness jangled in harmony. The traces took the strain alternately. Sitting up front on the right, he held the reins accross his body. With sufficient pull to refrain her from a canter. Young Barrett was content. Going up Woodstock, he felt the gig going forward under him, as the mare extended. He moved his left foot slightly for balance. He could see the extra swing in her quarters as she clipped determinedly along the straight stretch of road. She hadn’t asked to walk since leaving Newwcastle, and she kept the same tempo as she turned for Móin Gearr. Still with the forbidden canter in her head.

The stallion at Clooniffe ran to the gap to investigate. All his senses alert and excited. As she passed the head of the road, she heard him. Then she saw him. She picked up her head and slowed. Barrett let back into an easy trot, admiring the stallion as they passed. He pulled accross to get a better look. The mare slowed and raised her tail. The stallion was dancing with excitement, blood coursing through the veins all over his body. Then she came to an abrupt stop and showed for him.

Barrett knew better than to hang around, and with a swift, determined lash of his whip, they were away again. The stallion followed inside the fence, and as he reached the end of the field, jumped without pausing onto the road to give chase. He now used his whip in alarm, and was in a frantic gallop when he reached Clydagh with the stallion in hot pursuit. ‘Why on earth did I slow down?’ the young lad asked himself. Then the stallion was alongside, calling urgently, and pushing the pony towards the ditch, as he forced his attention upon her. He tried to beat him off as they met a car with a startled driver. Another car drove behind, keeping a safe distance, the driver incredulous.

As the mare slowed in exhaustion, the stallion’s excitement increased. For a moment he came from behind and planted his front feet in the bed of the gig. His hind legs, in double time, keeping pace. Barrett had enough, sweat pouring off him – ‘Is fearr rith maith, ná seasamh fada‘ he decided, and jumped ship. Going up Killagoola, the driverless mare and gig were taking both sides of the road, while motorists pulled aside at every vantage point for safety as they gazed in awe.

As they approached Moycullen village, at least ten cars had formed a cavalcade behind them. The stallion was prancing and roaring in a frenzy.

The pub owner, a pony man of note, was standing at the pub door, when the convoy entered the village. It didn’t take him long to assess the situation. He ran to his car, parked only a few yards away, and grabbed a bridle. A motorist came to his aid, and they got the stallion under control. Barrett jumped from another car, in which he had gotten a lift and took charge of his pony. Order was restored, and the traffic cleared.

That night in the pub, it was the only topic of conversation. One customer was quite insistent that he saw the stallion at one stage with all four feet up on the cart! By closing time, a few more had seen the same thing. Another pint there, lads!

Throughout history there have been many examples of generosity, and no-doubt countless tales of hardship. Irish people do not, of course, have to look far into the past to find our own moments of horror – the Famine of 1740 and the ‘Great’ Famine of 1845-1849 robbed this country of millions of its citizens.¹ They were two devastating blows to the psyche of the nation, resulting, in the latter case alone, in the deaths of up to one and a half million people and the immediate eimigration of somewhere in the region of a million more. During the darkest moments of the Great Famine many came to Ireland’s aid in what may have been the first case of organised disaster relief. Amongst the worldwide giving there was one instance of astonishing generosity and fellow-feeling that was so unexpected as to be worthy of record in the history of both our peoples. It was the collection and donation of $710 ² to the men, women and children of Ireland from the men, women and children of the Native American Choctaw Nation.

The Choctaw Indian Nation traces its roots to the Mississippi Valley and the Deep South (Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana). Only sixteen years before, in 1830, as a result of a treaty with the U.S. Government, 15,000 Choctaws were made to move to ‘Indian Territory’ (now Oklahoma). About 2,500 died from disease, famine and attacks from white men and Comanche during this trek, a move now remembered as the ‘Trail of Tears’.³ They had starved once themselves, and remembered the hunger. It is a source of amazement even today, that a people, so driven to destitution and insufficiency, should not only be able to scrape together the $710, but that they found it in their hearts to do so at all amidst all their own difficulties.⁴ To mark the 150th anniversary, eight Irish people retraced the Trail of Tears⁵ while President Mary Robinson extolled the donation in a public commemoration.

The effect of the Trail of Tears upon the Choctaw should not be underestimated; their lands⁶ were almost entirely taken from them and their people permanently divided. Reservations can now be found in Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.⁷ An agrarian people, they were not suited, equipped, or prepared for a move of such proportions and the hardships they endured were wondered upon even by European spectators of the era. Alexis de Tocqueville, noted French political thinker and historian, witnessed the Choctaw removals while in Memphis, Tennessee in 1831:

In the whole scene there was an air of ruin and destruction, something which betrayed a final and irrevocable adieu; one couldn’t watch without feeling one’s heart wrung. The Indians were tranquil, but sombre and taciturn. There was one who could speak English and of whom I asked why the Chactas were leaving their country. “To be free,” he answered, could never get any other reason out of him. We … watch the expulsion … of one of the most celebrated and ancient American peoples.

The removals continued, with the last recorded official deracination occuring in 1903. It was reported that even African slaves had more legal rights than did the Choctaws during this period. One contemporary Georgian described them as having “no nobility or virtue at all…beneath contempt”.⁸

There was one companion that did stand by the Choctaw during all their trials; the Choctaw Pony. This is an animal whose history many Connemara Pony enthusiasts will find ringing with familiarity. Just as the Connemara is supposedly partially descended from Spanish horses washed ashore after the dismal failure of the Spanish Armada⁹ in 1588, so too is the Choctaw Pony descended from the Spanish warhorses of the conquistadores – although definitely so in this case! Just as the English Penal Laws forbade Irish Catholics owning a horse valued at over £5, so too were the Native Americans forbidden from horses at all by the Spanish.¹⁰

The horse transformed the buffalo-hunting culture of the Plains Indians in particular, but even tribes such as the Choctaw, who were agriculturists, put the animals to good use. They developed a smaller strain of the Spanish horses into the Choctaw Pony,¹¹ which measures between 13.2 to 14.2 hands. Obtaining food became easier and transportation was greatly assisted. Among the Choctaws, these ponies determined wealth, prestige, glory, and honor. They were also used like money to barter for other goods. One can draw many similarities between the Choctaw and some Connemara farmers: subsistence farmers, whose great comfort, companion and sport would have been their tough, enduring ponies. One gathering seaweed and potatoes, the other hunting and gathering corn.

H.B. Cushman, in the book, “History of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Natchez Indians”, published in Greenville, Texas, 1899 describes:

…His unwearied patience, and his seemingly untiring endurance of hardships and fatigue, were truly astonishing. In all the Choctaws’ expeditions the chubby little pony always was considered an indispensable adjunct…

…All things being ready, the hunter, as leader and protector, took his position in front, sometimes on foot and sometimes astride a pony of such diminutive proportions, that justice and mercy would naturally have suggested a reverse in the order of things, and … directly after whom, in close order, the loaded ponies followed in regular succession one behind the other, while the dutiful wife and children brought up the rear in regular, successive order, often with from three to five children on a single pony – literally hiding the submissive little fellow from view. Upon the neck of each pony a little bell was suspended, whose tinkling chimes of various tones broke the monotony of the desert air, and added cheerfulness to the novel scene.

In the 1970′s, the distinct breed of Choctaw Ponies began to face extinction, for much the same reasons that compelled Connemara breeders to form the CPBS to protect their own breed. In the mid-late 1800s, almost all Spanish stocks were crossbred with or replaced by horses of larger size including thoroughbreds, other riding horse breeds and draft horses. A few herds of pure blood remain in the Southeast and the Southwest owned by traditional ranchers or Native American tribes, and a few were found in isolated feral herds. The Choctaw strain is in particular jepordy, with some placing its total ‘pure-bred’ population at less than 200 ponies. They are a direct remnant of the horses of the golden age of Spanish horse breeding, a type that is largely gone from Spain as well as America. Besides being an important part of American history, says the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, the genes of remaining Spanish-stock horses and ponies are “irreplaceable”.

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Footnotes

1. It is not known how many people died during the Famines, although population decrease estimates (counting both deaths and emigration for the Great Famine and principally just deaths for the Famine of 1740) hover between 20% and 30% of the population. That converts to about half a million in 1740 and around three million in the late 1840′s. These are of the ‘main’ famines in Irish history, although famines were not actually uncommon. The last ‘main’ famine occured in 1879 and, while causing mainly hunger rather than death, it is principally remembered as igniting in Ireland a battle for the ‘Three ‘Fs’ (fair rent, fixity of tenure, free sale) being waged by Davitt and the Land League, and as a contributory to the Irish Land War of the late 1870s and early 1880s. Back to Article
2. About $20,000 today, or €14,000. Back to Article
3. While the phrase ‘Trail of Tears’ was coined by a Choctaw chief to an American newspaper in direct reference to the Choctaw experience (“…a trail of tears and death“) the term has since, and is still, used to describe the relocation experiences of several other peoples also. These include the Seminole, Creek, Chickasaw, and Cherokee Nations. Back to Article
4. It is worth comparing their generosity to that of the most powerful monarch in the world of the time: Queen Victoria. In 1845, the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid declared his intention to send £10,000 to the Irish but Queen Victoria requested that the Sultan send only £1,000, because she had sent only £2,000. The Sultan sent the £1,000 but also secretly sent 3 ships full of food. The English tried to block the ships, but the food arrived at Drogheda harbour and was left there by Ottoman sailors. Back to Article
5. Fittingly, as part of a successful campaign to raise funds for Somailian famine relief. Back to Article
6. 10,523,130 acres (42,585.6 km2), the last of their heriditary Mississipian lands. Approximately 4,000–6,000 Choctaws remained in Mississippi in 1831 after the initial removal efforts, but one remaining Choctaw described their situation in 1849: “we have had our habitations torn down and burned, our fences destroyed, cattle turned into our fields and we ourselves have been scourged, manacled, fettered and otherwise personally abused, until by such treatment some of our best men have died.” Between 1738 and 1861, the Choctaw people would cede some 26,851,407 acres to European and later American settlers, principally under the threat of bloodshed. Back to Article
7. Alabama-(MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians), Louisiana-(Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; United Houma Nation; Choctaw-Apache of Ebarb; Bayou Lacombe Choctaw; Clifton Choctaw), Texas-(Mount Tabor Indian Community), Mississippi-(Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians), and Oklahoma-(Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma). Other population centers include California, Oregon, Dallas, Houston and Chicago. Back to Article
8. That is not to lay responsibility for how they were treated on everyone’s door but the Irish. Andrew Jackson, the American President responsible for this – and other – ‘Trail of Tears’ was himself second generation Irish and had in fact fought alongside the Choctaw against the British in the cause of American independence. Something that would not doubt have cast him in the mould of the blackest betrayer to the dislocated Choctaw. There should also be no doubt in anyone’s mind that among the troops ready to descend upon any Indian tribe that did not co-operate would have been many Irish emigrants. The Irish had always been attractive recruits for foreign armies, and some 120,000 Irishmen fought in the American Civil War alone, just thirty years later. One was Carlow-born Captain Myles Keogh. Promoted to major for his Civil War gallantry, Keogh would later join General George Custer’s 7th Cavalry and die fighting in the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn. Back to Article
9. Ironically named Grande y Felicísima Armada, the “Great and Most Fortunate Navy”. It consisted of 22 galleons and 108 armed merchant vessels. Interestingly, they were still technically outnumbered by the English, who were reinforced by the Dutch. While the Spanish lost 2 ships in battle with some 800 men, around 65 ships were sunk or wrecked due to storm – most of these on the Irish Atlantic coast (the Spanish also being unaware of the effect of the Gulf Stream on their navigation) – leaving some 20,000 men dead. The Armada carried a large number of horses and mules for the invasion force. While popular myth has it that the Connemara pony is descended from war-horses washed ashore, most, if not all, of these animals were put over the side in the North Sea as it was considered that there was insufficient water for the journey home. An English ship later saw the mass of animals swimming in the sea. Back to Article
10. The Penal Laws were introduced into Ireland in the year 1695. A horse worth more than £5 was theoretically good for military use and therefore the English were determined to keep them out of Irish hands. Likewise the Spanish recognised the reasons behind their victory over the natives (horses and guns) and were determined to keep their advantages. The Spanish horses were the best in the world at the time, a mix of Barb, Arabian and Andalusian blood. It was therefore the escaped, wild horses, the mesteño or ‘Mustangs’ that became the first horses to fall into the possession of the native peoples. When the Southwest Pueblo tribes revolted in 1680 they also seized the Spaniards’ horses and began trading them to other tribes. The familiarisation of the native peoples to the horse continued in general throughout the 18th century, just before or concurrent to the gradual repeal of the Penal Laws in Ireland in the period between the 1770′s and the 1820′s. Back to Article
11. American Livestock Breeds Conservancy states that the Colonial Spanish horse is a group of closely related breeds that descend from horses brought by Spanish explorers and colonists to the Americas beginning in the 1500s. The horse goes by a number of names including Spanish Mustang, Spanish Barb, or their strain name. Regardless of the name, they share conformational features that distinguish them from other riding breeds. They are small, standing 13.2 to 15 hands (54-60″) at the withers and weighing 700-900 pounds. The horses are generally short coupled and deep bodied, but narrow from the front so that the front legs join the chest in the shape of an “A” rather than the shape of a “U” that is seen in the stock horse breeds. The croup is sloping and the tail is set low. The horses have broad foreheads and narrow faces, and the profiles may be either straight or convex. Spanish horses are athletic and useful for a variety of riding disciplines, among them ranch work, endurance competitions, and pleasure riding. They have an unusually long stride, and many of them are gaited. They are renowned for their even temperament. Back to Article