GALWAY-bred Castle Connemara Ponies were out in force at the Staffordshire Country Festival in England last weekend where three full siblings with the Castle prefix dominated the Horse of the Year Connemara Mountain and Moorland qualifier.

Sue and Katie Novelle’s 10-year-old stallion Castle Admiral topped the line up with Katie on board, ahead of seven-year-old Castle Diva, owned by Winsome and Jamie Aird and ridden by Kirsty Aird, in second.

The eight-year-old mare Castle Jasmine, owned by Katy Mickle, senior nutritionist and sales and marketing director at TopSpec, placed third under Katie Marriott Payne.

Castle Admiral went on to win the supreme champion sash and book his ticket for HOYS, where he placed third in 2017.

BREEDING

All three ponies were bred by Henry O’Toole in Clifden and, sired by Frederiksminde Hazy Match, are out of his top broodmare Castle Urchin.

The 21-year-old Abbeyleix Owen mare, who has a Glencarrig Knight colt foal at foot and is carrying her 16th foal, was twice supreme champion at the Clifden Show and a former RDS winner.

Castle Urchin is a full-sister to the late Castle Comet who, under British producer Vanessa Clark, is the only Connemara Pony to stand supreme at both HOYS and Olympia.

Also descending from the Castle Comet line is another HOYS-bound pony in Castle Emperor, a seven-year-old stallion son of the former champion (and out of Orphee Schueracher), now owned by Clark and ridden by Matthew Laurence to qualify at Midland Counties.