Oct. 1-4, 2015 | Host Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn, Allentown/Bethlehem PA
Bring your Horse! Accommodations for your Connemara are available 5 short minutes away athe the beautiful Willowbrook Farm!
St. Louis, MO: The annual Midwest Connemara Breeders’ show was held the weekend of July 18 at the National Equestrian Center just outside of St. Louis. On Saturday, in-hand classes, as well as dressage and hunter-jumper classes were held, while on Sunday, there were driving and trail classes, followed by Connemara Inspections. Sarah Jane Martin of Montgomery, TX was the in-hand judge.
Woodstock, VT: Also on the weekend of July 18, Region 1 of the ACPS held their annual show, their 49th! Deborah Howell of Middleburg VA judged the show in rain and shine. The in hand division was sizeable with two big mare classes. In hand Champion was Wintervale Mayblossom (Morning Glory's Ilyushin X Wintervale Calliope [by Chiltern Colm]), owned and shown by Caroline Nesbitt. Young Stock Champion was Dry Brooks Winifred (Bailey's Irish Dream X Lasrachai's Blue Oaks Dunlaith [by Lasrachi]), owned and shown by Emily Shields.
Warrenton, VA: Just three weeks after winning the major awards at the Upperville Colt and Horse Show, Oakfields Farms took home the top prizes in Virginia’s second A-rated show of the Summer, The Warrenton Pony Show. Oakfields Peridot (*Hearnesbrook Dunoon X *Templebready Ruby) with rider, Jennifer Daly, took the Championship while the Reserve went to Oakfields Jameson (*Hearnesbrook Dunoon X *Castle Janet ) and Chanda Boylen. Also much admired was Thurman Sienna (Rattle-n-Snap- Laddie Boy X Thurman Raven) who was the winner of the Older Mares Class.
Richmond, VA: At the Hidden Haven show on June 14 at Pole Green Park in Richmond, two offspring of Concord River Roaringwater Bay (Whitewood Galway Bay X Lynnfield’s Proud Hope) did themselves proud. Balmullo’s Liffey Lad (Roaringwater Bay X Balmullo’s Miss Emma) was the champion of the short stirrup equitation division, and reserve champion short stirrup hunter. He was ridden by Alyssa Parker. His half sister Balmullo’s Uproar, (Roaringwater Bay X Wildwych Clio) was the champion of the Maiden Hunter Division. She was ridden by Lulu Malinowski. Roaringwater Bay has produced several nice hunter ponies, most notably Ooh La La (registered name, Balmullo’s Azalea [Custusha’s Cashel Rock X Courtney’s April Frolic]), who was tenth at the Pony finals in 2007.
Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada: Lots of new foals have appeared lately but this photo from Janet Rowe of Muskoka Lakes Connemaras is surely the most endearing. It is the colt foal of MLC Irish Solstice by Morning Glory’s Ilyushin. It was taken when he was one day old. Janet MAY take the prize for the most foals this year in North America with 4.
Cleveland, TN: Region IV of the ACPS held its annual show the weekend of June 5 at the Tri-State Exhibition Center in Cleveland, Tennessee. The show was held in conjunction with the Smokey Mountain Horse Show Series and offered a large variety of hunter, jumper, dressage, combined training, trail, and driving in addition to the Connemara and Mountain and Moorland in-hand Classes. People came from all over the region as well as the Midwest with ponies in tow. And with so many classes for ponies of all ages and all levels of training it was a very fun show. It was a rare pony who went home without some accolade.
ACPS Region 1 Field Day and the annual meeting of the Region took place on May 24 at the New England Equestrian Center of Athol in MA. The weather was perfect. The turnout included 8 ponies and their people, and another half dozen members. We had had to reschedule when the clinician who had confirmed for an earlier date and place cancelled at the last minute. So Amy Plavin found this excellent new facility for us and our own multitalented Carolyn McEvitt agreed to teach.
Exeter, NH and Richmond, VA: For much of the life of the American Connemara Pony Society some 100 foals were registered annually. However, for the last several years very few Connemara purebreds were born in the United States due, at least partly, to poor economic conditions. The numbers of purebred foals born is now slowly increasing, with two being born last week on the same day. Hopefully the numbers will be back in the 100’s before too long. Sally Oxnard of Paradox Connemara Farm in Exeter announces that the first Paradox filly in 4 years was born on 4/22. Paradox Cadence is by Aluinn Durango (Aladdin’s Denver X *Patty’s Meredith) out of Macbradaigh's Irish Whistle (Maplehurst Michael Macdaire X Elphin Kookaburra). She was delivered at TNT Equine Clinic in due to a placental infection in the mare. Sally says, however, that all is well now and that she thinks the filly is black like her grandsire, Aladdin's Denver.
Lexington, KY: All Connemara eyes will be on Lexington next weekend for the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event. Sparrows’s Nio, a half Connemara by the legendary Grange FinnSparrow and ridden by Allie Blyksal- Sackson, will be competing at eventing’s highest level against 90 other riders including defending champion William Fox-Pitt and Zara Phillips, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II of England. The field includes riders from nine countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, The Netherlands and USA.
by Sally Spickard, via EventingNation
"A Horse of a Different Color" features horses and ponies that have been successful in the sport of eventing while representing a unique breed. Do you have a horse that you think would be a great feature subject? If so, email sally@eventingnation.com.
Katharine Stancliff and Poppyfields Tristan at FENCE. Photo courtesy of Nathan Stancliff.
After years of riding lesson horses, Katharine Stancliff found herself frustrated with the lack of progress her riding was making. Living in Illinois at the time, Katharine decided that the time had come for her to have a horse of her own, so she mentioned the idea to her trainer.
As luck would have it, Katharine’s trainer had a new sales project that had just arrived. He was a 15.3, 8-year-old buckskin Connemara/Trakehner cross named Poppyfields Tristan with long lines of endurance blood coursing through his veins.
“I didn’t look at any other horses. I sat on him, and that was it,” Katharine recalled. “He’d just been a trail horse before, but he’d gone cross country schooling once and seemed to love it.”
