The Connemara Pony (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Capaillín Chonamara'') is a

pony breed This article is a list of horse and pony breeds with articles on Wikipedia, and also includes terms for types of horse that are not necessarily standardized breeds but are often labeled as breeds. While there is no scientifically accepted defin ...

originating in Ireland. They are known for their athleticism, versatility and good disposition. The breed makes excellent show ponies.

History

The

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

region in

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

in western Ireland, where the breed first became recognised as a distinct type, is a very harsh landscape, thus giving rise to a pony breed of hardy, strong individuals. Some believe that the Connemara developed from Scandinavian ponies that the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

first brought to Ireland. Another source was likely the

Irish Hobby The Irish Hobby is an extinct breed of horse developed in Ireland prior to the 13th century. The breed provided foundation bloodlines for several modern horse breeds, including breeds as diverse as the Connemara pony and the Irish Draught. Pal ...

, a now-

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

breed established prior to the 13th century. Legend, however, says that galleons from the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

ran aground in 1588, and the Andalusians on board were set loose. The Spanish horses bred with the native stock, refining the local ponies. For additional strength and stamina,

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

blood was added in the 18th century. They were also crossed with Hackneys and

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

s. Too much

crossbreeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

began to dilute the pony bloodlines, so the Connemara Pony Breeders' Society, worked to preserve the breed type. The

stud book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

was established in 1926. Today, Connemaras are bred worldwide in Ireland and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, as well as on the

European continent Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

, North America,

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

, and South Africa. The Connemara Pony Breeders Society was established in 1923 and set out to ensure the "preservation and improvement of the Connemara Pony" as the native breed of Ireland. The society runs an annual pony show and has been doing so since its founding. The annual show allows the assembly of the largest collection of Connemara Ponies worldwide and is used to buy and sell ponies from Ireland and abroad.

Characteristics

The original breed standard is set by the Connemara Pony Breeders' Society of Ireland, and also used by the British Connemara Pony Society. The adults are usually in height, with a strong back, loins, and hindquarters, deep and broad through the ribs, and with a riding-type well laid-back shoulder and well-placed neck without undue crest, giving a good length of rein. The head should be of pony type, broad between the eyes, which should be large and appear kind, and with a deep but refined jaw and clearly defined cheekbone. The ears should be of pony type (relatively short). The legs should be relatively short from the knees and hocks to the ground, with a strong, muscular upper leg, strong and well-defined knees and hocks, and well-shaped hard feet, which are of a medium size. The action should be free, active, and easy. Permitted colours are

grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

dun A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse. Etymology The term comes from Irish language, Irish ''dún'' or Scottish Gaelic ''dùn'' (meaning "fort"), ...

, roan,

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

palomino Palomino is a genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called t ...

, and

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

Pinto Pinto is a Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Sephardi Jews, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian language, Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all List of countries and territories where Portuguese is an officia ...

colouring (

piebald A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...

and

skewbald Skewbald is a colour pattern of horses. A skewbald horse has a coat made up of white patches on a non-black base coat, such as chestnut, bay, or any colour besides black coat. Skewbald horses which are bay and white (bay is a reddish-brown colo ...

) is not accepted. The Connemara Pony should be intelligent with a good temperament, suitable for adults and children; it should be hardy with good endurance; it should be

sure-footed Sure-footedness is the ability, especially when hiking or mountain climbing, to negotiate difficult or rough terrain safely. Such situations place demands on a person's coordination and reserves of strength as well as requiring sufficient appreciat ...

, sound, and able to jump. If a Connemara Pony is to be passed as grade 1 on inspection by the Connemara Pony Breeder's Society, it must meet the breed standard; if it does not meet this specification, then it will be given a grade 2 or 3 on inspection. Connemaras in North America range from . Some Connemara Ponies carry the

autosomal recessive In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and t ...

disorder hoof wall separation diseasePLOS Genetics April 13 2015: ''SERPINB11 Frameshift Variant Associated with Novel Hoof Specific Phenotype in Connemara Ponies''
accessed 25 April 2015 and all foals born are tested as part of the registration process.

Uses

The Connemara is best known today as a sports pony. Ridden by both children and adults, it is considered to be a very versatile pony breed, competitive in

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

and

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

, but also with the stamina for

endurance riding Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide. Endurance rides can be any distance, though they are rare ...

. They are also shown in

harness A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types: * Bondage harness * Child harness * Climbing harness * Dog harness * Pet harness * Five-point harness * Horse harness * Parrot harness * ...

. Connemara Pony shows are held worldwide, with particular popularity in Ireland and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Connemara Pony Sales are Ireland's largest and leading sale of Connemara Ponies, with four sales held annually in February, May, August and October in Clifden. They can be viewed via video-stream online, allowing easier access for potential buyers to view a selection of ponies. Last year the highest price for a pony sold at the sales was topped at €‎14,000 for a 3 year old.

References

Link to the NICPBA - NI Connemara Pony Breeders Association

External links

Ulster Connemara Pony Breeders AssociationConnemara Pony Breeders SocietyAmerican Connemara Pony SocietyBritish Connemara Pony SocietyProfileInternational Committee of Connemara Pony SocietiesConnemara Pony Breeder Online Pedigree ResourcesConnemara Pony Breeders Society of Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connemara Pony Horse breeds originating in Ireland Horse breeds

History

Characteristics

Uses

See also

References

External links