DARYL Curran’s first foray into pony ownership is certainly paying dividends, as his Caherpuca Chappy won the ridden Connemara pony championship in the P&O Ferries Arena at the recent Balmoral Show. Earlier on the Thursday, the seven-year-old Coolin America gelding topped the final line-up in the flat Connemara class for riders aged 10 to 16.

The grey’s partner, as she was on her mother Jennie’s Tidkin Talisman in Saturday’s show pony class, was 14-year-old Amira Curran, who took over the ride on Caherpuca Chappy last June from Ciara Mullen. It didn’t take long for the new partnership to gel. “It was amazing really,” said Jennie in whose name most inmates of the family’s Co Kildare yard compete. “They qualified at Forth Mountain for the young riders’ flat Connemara class at Dublin and won there, going reserve champion.

“We’ve been across to England already this year and they qualified for the Royal International – as did Tidkin Talisman on St Patrick’s Day – and we are heading back there in the next two weeks, hoping to qualify for the Horse of the Year Show. We will be based with Team Holder, who are top producers near Guilford. When we get back home, we’ll do the flat Connie qualifiers for Dublin again. This pony, who is the ultimate unicorn, is giving Amira the confidence to do some jumping, but we’ll leave the performance hunter qualifiers until next year.”

The reserve champion came from the six-year-old and upwards class, which was open to riders over 10. Here, the winner of the R.J. Monteith Trophy was Craughwell’s Grace Maxwell Murphy with her Glencarrig Princess Ella who, too, qualified for Dublin last August. Bred in Moycullen by Gearoid Curran, the nine-year-old Glencarrig Knight mare is out of Glencarrig Princess (by Glencarrig Prince).

Trophy

The Robson Trophy was won by Crossgar’s James McMillen, whose Fivealley Nutmeg ran out the winner of the four and five-year-old class under Chloe Rooney. The 2020 dun mare by Ballymahon Highland King is out of Tasty Star (by Tasty Pride).

Glencarrig Princess Ella also contested the in-hand mares’ class for the Henderson and Graham Trophy, where she finished second to Joe McNamara’s home-bred Lehid Ellen. This six-year-old, who bred a colt foal by Glencarrig Douvan in 2022 and qualified for the younger ridden Connemara flat class at Dublin last August, is by the aforementioned Glencarrig Prince out of Lehid Marie (by Currachmore Cashel). In their ridden class, the grey had to settle for sixth behind Glencarrig Princess Ella.

Newtownards exhibitor Jasmin Dean won the two and three-year-old class for the Cashelbay Stud Trophy with the 2021 filly Doyles Pixie Shadow, a grey by Carrowmore Shadow, who was bred in Co Derry by Shane Doyle out of Cashelbay Brooke (by Cashelbay Prince). The Kylemore-Trust-bred Peaceful Aimhirgin finished second for another Newtownards Connemara aficionado, Sylvia Henry. Also three and grey, this gelding by Blakehill Ballylee Storm is out of Gray Lass (by Lehid Canal Prince).