Caraway Charlotte, Champion Performance Connemara

Thompson, GA: The Region IV show at Pine Top Farm this past weekend was the biggest and best ever! Jill MacNicol was the very able judge for the many Connemaras and Dartmoors that came from as far as eight hours away. In her comments after the show, Jill said she was extremely pleased by the quality of movement she saw in the ponies that were there. Oakfields Hazel Sparrow (*Hearnesbrook Dunoon X Oakfields Maria Sparrow) took away the Grand Champion Connemara award and was also awarded Best in Show! Ballencrieff’s Brogan (Landgate Bluebeard X Aladdin’s Winter Promise) was the first place stallion winner and Carla Jimmerson’s Valleycreek Carlin LeBeau ( Heaven’s Ridge Patr ick LeBeau X Beacon’s Cherubin Cathleen) was the winner of the geldings class. In the Performance Division, Caraway Charlotte (Maplehurst Michael McDaire X Wensum Plum) was the Champion Connemara, Grace Bridges, “Lottie’s” rider, was the Champion Rider, and Balmullo’s Liffey

Balmullo's Miss Emma and Summer Fraughnaugh in the leadline class.

Lad, ridden by Luke McLaughlin, won the award for the highest dressage score of the day, a whopping 79.6%! There were also some fun classes and three driving classes so a good time was had by all! A complete report will be in the American Connemara.

On the Sunday, ACPS Inspections were held and 14 ponies presented. All were approved including the stallion Bailey’s Irish Dream (Balius Turlough X Beacon’s Siobhan), owned by Lorna Henard of Tennessee. Two mares were awarded premium status, two firsts for Region IV! They are Caraway Charlotte, owned by Rai Pullen of Georgia, and Balmullo’s Miss Emma (Aladdin X Oak Hills Miss Independence), owned by Donna Duckworth of Florida.

Grace Bridges and Kenzie Evans on two
Dartmoors in the Crepe Paper Challenge

Oakfields Hazel Sparrow, owned by Susan McConnell.
Ê Hazel was Champion Connemara andÊBest in Show

Fundraising Campaign Dates
June 5th-September 1st, 2010

The Concept of the ACPS “Ride to WEG”
The “Ride to WEG” fundraising concept is simply $1 dollar donation equals 1 mile. Each dollar gets us closer to our goal of Connemaras in Kentucky at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games.

The ACPS fund raising committee hopes that all 10 ACPS Regions will rally to support this major fund raiser in order to reach the national goal of $50,000. We’re “thinking big,” and hope that every ACPS member, along with family and friends, will support this effort “big time!”

This is a “virtual ride.” Regional Chairmen, or an individual identified by the Chair of each region as the “Ride to WEG” coordinator, will be recognized as the fund raising “Team Leader” within each of the ten ACPS Regions. Participants (you who are raising funds) are asked to register as “riders” to raise funds from the folks you know (sponsors). Instructions and helpful forms follow.

All Rider Forms, Sponsorship Forms, and Mode of Payment Records for individual riders will ultimately be coordinated and accounted for by their appointed WEG Team Leaders.

The campaign will be run Online as well as On Paper via US Postal Service or Snail Mail as we like to call it. Those Sponsors wishing to pay by credit card, or to make outright donations using a credit card, may access PayPal by going directly to the ACPS website, www.acps.org. Sponsors will give the name of the Rider they are sponsoring and his/her ACPS Region Number. Ultimately, monies donated Online and On Paper, will be tracked by Rider in each region.

Online:
The ACPS website will report on the progress of the “Ride to WEG” campaign with fund raising updates and occasionally post participating rider profiles in the “Weekly News.”

To reinforce energy and excitement for the “Ride to WEG, Team Leaders are asked to report timely information from their active fund raising regional members to Dr. Donna Duckworth, website Editor of “Weekly News,” connemaras@windstream.net.

Forms for the “Ride to WEG” may be downloaded here.

On Paper:
“Ride to WEG” forms will be available via USPS directly from WEG Team Leaders. For those riders wishing to participate using “paper,” please contact your respective WEG Team Leader, requesting that the appropriate paperwork be mailed to you. Contact information for the 10 WEG Team Leaders is available on the ACPS website or by telephoning your ACPS Region Chair for the name of your region’s designated WEG Team Leader.

THE OVERVIEW
The BOG of the ACPS has voted for the Society to support the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games, Lexington, KY, with a promotional “Connemara Pony Booth” within the site’s Equine Village. The consensus was that the international exposure, media coverage, demographics and expected record-breaking attendance added up to “a once in a life time opportunity” for the ACPS to showcase the remarkable traits and breed characteristics of the Connemara Pony.

At the January, 2010, ACPS Board of Governors Meeting, the projected financial commitment was presented to the Board and fund raising ideas to meet this commitment were discussed. Several committees were established to achieve the intended goals of supporting a breed booth, ranging from volunteer organization to actual Connemara Pony demonstrations. Fund raising discussions were of ultimate importance with the objective being to arrive at fund raising ideas appealing and exciting to the entire ACPS membership.

We now encourage your enthusiasm and commitment to a “virtual” fund raising campaign, “Ride to WEG!” It is a national campaign, created not only to raise funds for the WEG Connemara Pony booth, but also to create awareness throughout our country and the world about the Connemara Pony breed and to ensure a “Connemara Pony presence” at the Alltech World Equestrian Games being held for the first time on American soil in Lexington, KY, from September 25th through October 10th, 2010! This is an historic event within the equestrian world!

Monies raised will go directly to the American Connemara Pony Society Foundation, (ACPS-F), a 501 C 3 non-profit, used to cover all expenses for the educational Connemara Pony booth in the Irish Village at “the Games.” All donations are tax deductible.

N. Chittenden, VT: Katie Reuter sent the following report: “Catskill Keiran (Bantry Bay's Dillon X Cobweb Allison) and I went to our first event of the season at Hitching Post Farm in South Royalton, VT, over Memorial Day weekend. We competed in the Junior Beginner Novice Division against 12 other horse and rider pairs. It was Keiran's first Beginner Novice event. We had a solid warm-up for dressage and a good test for his first walk/trot/canter test. Though he was a bit distracted at times, I was very pleased with how he went. Again, in the warm-up for cross-country and stadium (stadium follows XC right away) Keiran was calm and focused. During both jumping phases Keiran was forward, attentive, and responsive. We jumped things on cross-country such as drops, roll-tops, and benches. We were fourth in our division, finishing on our dressage score of 38.1. We were less than 2 points off of first!” Attached is a picture from their dressage warm-up.

Colville, WA: Kelsie Staeli sent the following news. “I recieved the most wonderful news from Jocelyn Davies. Wintermist Mountain Charm (Kilfenora Windy Isles X Rocky Hollow Irish Crystal) produced a buckskin colt by Tullymor's Mountain Sun ( Tullymor's Mountain Shadow X Tullymor's Kiss of Sun). Charm’s foal last year, a filly by Tullymor's Mountain Sun, was lost as it was born 3 months early here at my farm. That early foaling was due a drastic change in the temperature, it went from below freezing to 80 degrees one day and the stress was more than Charm could bear.. I am so happy for Jocelyn and Charm!

Exeter, NH: Sally Oxnard has forwarded this photo of a surprisingly big flashy chestnut colt who is the first foal of Troutranch Malarkey (*Kingstown Joe X Tower Hill Killaire). The colt’s dam is Gisborne Reserve [by Goldfuerst] who is a big elegant bay Oldenburg mare. He is owned by Beth Adams at 4.0 Farm in Stratham NH.

Alachua, FL: If you are looking for different things to do with your ponies, Julie Van der Meer sent the following video link…maybe you shouldn’t try it alone!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SORYzaBLTI

And in Australia, Lyndie Easton took Glenormiston Tipper O’Toole (Castle Baron X Oxenholm Tiffany) camping with a friend on a motor bike! And of course there are lots more Connemara shows or shows with Connemara divisions, to visit, including Upperville, VA this upcoming weekend.