IN welcome news to breeders, the top price at last Sunday’s one-day Clifden Connemara Pony sale, €9,500, exceeded that of the same renewal last year by over €2,000. Of the 186 catalogued entries, there were 148 through the ring, with a healthy 77% clearance rate. Some 20 ponies sold on the day are bound for Belgium, thanks to the buying power of SDV Horses. 26 are bound for the UK, four apiece were sold to France and Germany and two to Sweden.

Sales manager Ann DeCourcey said the team was very pleased with the turnout.

“I thought the market was strong for what we had, a lot of regular buyers weren’t there, but there was still plenty of demand and we were very pleased with the clearance rate. Anything nice made plenty and that augers well for the October sale. We have a huge entry for October, we are oversubscribed in fact, so we now plan to have a special foal sale at the end of November or start of December.

“There is no shortage of online buyers, the growth there is staggering, and our advertising abroad is clearly paying off - we had buyers from Czechoslovakia for the first time, who bought a couple.

“We also got a great report that a pony bought here as a four-year-old, Woody Sammy, bred by Brendan Noone and evented internationally by Kildare’s Bonnie O’Neill, has been sold in the UK for £100,000, so that is a huge success story and goes to show, if you want gold, go to the gold mine - if you want a Connemara Pony, come to Clifden.”

Lot 140, Birchill Anastasia was the second highest priced pony of the September Sales making €9,200 in the ring on Sunday, proving that high quality part bred ponies are making just as much in the sales ring \ Rynes Walker

Sale topper

Sale regular, Hannah Taylor picked up the top priced pony, Cathal Keane’s Valentino (Lot 56), a grey 148cm eight-year-old gelding by Cullane Comet out of The Playboys Daughter, for €9,500. With 146 SJI points, this pony was described as a lovely model of a pony that has show jumped, jumped cross-country and hunted.

Taylor also picked up the third highest priced pony, the eye-catching Lot 147, a 15.2hh palomino named Harvey McGuire, by the cob stallion Rocky McGuire. This four-year-old gelding was listed as a beautiful home-bred cob, with a temperament to match. Consigned by Brendan Noone, he was sold for €8,200.

Lot 140, Cyril Carty’s Birchill Anastasia, was the top-priced mare, going to Niall Daly for €9,200. By Kingstown Lieutenant out of My Tangos Duchess, this five-year-old 153cm grey was described as a very good-looking straight-moving mare, who would excel in the show ring.

The fourth highest price was also paid by Hannah Taylor, who went to €8,000 for Tiernan Gill’s Lot 154, a five-year-old mare by the Holsteiner stallion DS Are You With Me out of Moygownagh Rose (breeding not recorded).

The remainder of the top nine lots were all Connemaras, starting with Lot 47, Presto, a four-year-old gelding by Annaghdown Island out of Watts Lady. This 15.1hh grey was described as a big quality pony, recently broken and riding. He was consigned by Killian Bannon and sold to Conor Little for €7,400.

Lot 105, JP Curley’s Rehins Abbey, another four-year-old gelding, was the sixth highest priced lot of the day, going for €7,200 to Padraic Quinn. By King of Sagura out of Cartoor Lass, this grey was described as having done training shows, jumped a track of fences, schooled cross-country and placed in-hand.

Quinn also signed the docket for the second highest priced Connemara mare, Mill Robe Beauty (lot 159), a 14.2hh bay by Moores Clover out of Mill Robe Lass. Described as schooling over a course of fences and proving to be a very honest and willing pony, she went for €6,800. Niall Daly was in luck again with lot 95, Erne Valley Una, a six-year-old Connemara mare by Inverin Rocky out of Erne Valley Anu. This 148cm grey was consigned by Mary McAleer and went for €6,300.

The ninth and 10th highest priced lots both went for €6,200. They were Lot 51, Ardane Grey Sagura, a four-year-old mare by King of Sagura out of Ardane Dun Star, sold to Padraic Quinn and Lot 146, Keelogues Rocky, another by the cob stallion Rocky McGuire out of Keelogues Lady. This three-year-old dun was consigned by Brendan Noone and went to Hannah Taylor, who also bought his half-brother mentioned above.

Taylor signed the dockets for 10 lots in total, bested only by SDV Horses, who went home with 20. Mathide Badaux signed for four, as did Mary Connolly, Marie Maloney and Tom Vaughan, with Sian Bovell going home with three lots.

Lot 123, Paddy The Man, made the highest price for an unbroken three-year-old, making €6,100 in the ring \ Rynes Walker

Three-year-olds

Of the three-year-olds on offer, Lot 123, Nicola Maguire’s Paddy the Man, fetched the highest price, going for €6,100 to Kevin Reilly. This 148cm grey gelding is one of the last crops by Glenayre Silver Fox out of Ballybanagher Queen. The other top priced three-year-olds were Lot 98, Barbane Tonto, a 15hh grey gelding by Loughmor Rambler out of Derrarth Mystery, who went to UK buyer Jane Whyatt for €4,800 and Lot 79, Mochulla Sparrow, a 148cm dun gelding by Lishmar Shadow out of Mochulla Lilly, who went to Richard Hyland for €4,600.

The next Connemara Pony Sales will be the five-day October renewal from Thursday, October 24th until Monday, October 28th.