Connemara ponies trot out in style

THE sturdy Connemara Pony, a breed with origins going back 2,500 years to the days of the Celtic warriors, was celebrated in style at Clifden, Co Galway, yesterday.

Crowds flocked to the Connemara Breeders 80th annual show, and the 56th to be held in Clifden, despite the heavy early morning rain which later gave way to periods of finer weather.

President Dermot Power, welcomed the visitors, including members of Connemara Pony Societies worldwide, who came to discuss the breed, watch the showing classes and enjoy the occasion.

Some of them were also buyers who paid close attention to the 500 ponies on the official catalogue ahead of today’s sales at Clifden Mart, where a strong demand is expected for quality animals.

Legend has it that when ships of the Spanish Armada sank off the western coast, the horses on board swam to shore and bred with the native ponies running wild in the mountains.

That’s part of the heritage of the celebrated Connemara, the only native breed of Irish pony, which has played a crucial role in the life of people in the west. Often a farmer could only afford one good pony. She would pull a plough or a cart from dawn to dusk at whatever task was needed under extreme hard conditions. She carried heavy loads, moved rocks to claim the land, seaweed to fertilise the barren ground and turf from the bogs. And on Sundays, she was harnessed to cart the family to Mass.

Intelligence, stamina, hardiness and disposition were needed for such gruelling duties, traits that have since made the Connemara a much sought-after breed among sport horse breeders. For, like the Irish Draught, the Connemara mares, when crossed with thoroughbreds, have frequently produced excellent show jumpers, who have won honours in competitive arenas all over the world.

The Connemara Pony Breeders’ Society, set up in 1923 to encourage and maintain the breed, registered six stallions and seventy-five mares in its first year. Today, it has 250 stallions and 1,500 breeding mares registered.

Food Minister Noel Treacy, who officially opened the show, said the Connemara is a rare breed, protected under the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS). The modern Connemara demonstrates the changed role of the pony from that of a general purpose working animal on the small farms to one capable of excellence in a wide variety of sporting disciplines and suitable under saddle for a considerable range of age groups.

“We are all glad that, while times have changed, the Connemara pony breed is still much sought-after the world over,” he said, noting that there are now Connemara pony societies in 17 countries across Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.