SPEAKING to The Irish Field from Dublin Airport en route to judging duties in the US was Joe Burke of Cloonisle Cashel Stud who recently qualified Manor Duke for the Horse of the Year Show for the third time.

Having grown up with ponies and with a childhood of showing under his belt, Burke says there was never a doubt that ponies would be his life.

“I’m the youngest of four at home and there were horses and ponies there long before I came along,” he said. “My dad Eamon always had them so it was in the blood really. As kids we did pony club and show jumping and then when it came to 16 it was a choice of go on to horses or stick with the ponies, but for me that decision was already made so we went into showing and breeding.

“It’s always been Connemara stallions for us, that’s what dad would have always shown from many years ago. Cloonisle Cashel would have been the most prolific that we had at the time. When I started showing we kept a few more of our own that we bred with Currachmore Cashel the most notable, and then Banks Timber and Manor Duke (by Currachmore Cashel), who is the one I’m showing at the moment and qualified for HOYS. He actually belongs to the Noonans from Manor Ponies but he stands with us and we are very lucky to have him.

“We’re not a big operation by any means. We don’t have a big farm and I suppose I used to be jealous of people who did but now I’m proud of what we’ve been able to do, competing on the big stage from a small home-produced operation.

“At home it’s mainly me and dad and my wife Grace, she rides our other stallion Banks Timber and she does a lot of the work. Like it or not she’s my groom for the big days - when things get tense she’s the only one that’ll put up with us!

“We have the six stallions and usually keep around 10 mares and breed seven or eight foals a year and that’s worked really well for us. It’s mostly the stallions that we would show, but we do have some mares lined up to get out to a couple of shows. We imported a mare and a stallion from Denmark this summer to expand the bloodlines, which is something we are always quite conscious of.

“We’ve often imported different stallions - a few years ago, we imported a stallion called Erinmore Golden Marble from Sweden. He only bred about maybe 10 or 12 foals, but one of them was a pretty exceptional colt that we bought - he’s just two years old and we’re really excited to get him out next year. He has very diverse bloodlines and a really stellar show record as a foal.”

Getting show ready

“I do still ride at home to keep all of

the stallions fit and muscled up and ready for showing, mainly hacking out when they are not too busy with covering, but now that that’s getting a little bit quieter both Manor Duke and Manor Marble are being ridden to keep the shape right.

“Last year, I did a full season of showing with Manor Marble, our young stallion by Manor Duke. We did about 13 shows and he won 12 of them and was second in one so that was a pretty good year. This year, I’ve been doing a lot of travelling with the judging. I was in the Czech Republic earlier in the Spring, so I missed a couple of shows because of that and then I’ve been showing a lot in England with our other stallion, Aniar Cashel, who we own along with his rider Sandra Burton.

“We went to the Royal Cheshire show with him and won there and then we went to the Royal Highland, which is our favourite show on the UK circuit, and we won there and went champion as well and we were forward to the Price Family in-hand qualifier.

“I came home and did Clonmel with Duke and qualified him for HOYS there on his first day out after a break last year while we got Marble out. Then came great Yorkshire Show last week, and Aniar won champion there - a great achievement because he’s already qualified for the ridden at HOYS and there’s very few that can really do both.

“So straight away it’s into making plans for HOYS. For in-hand we don’t want them super fit, but he does need to be muscled and toned. Then there is all the logistics to work out because we need to be there for Wednesday for Aniar’s ridden and then for the Price on Friday. Thankfully Duke is as good as gold, he loves staying away - he’s used to a really busy yard at home, so he just soaks it all up at HOYS.”

Good model

With a shopping list of HOYS appearances under their belt, clearly the Burke model is working. “The way it goes at the moment is pretty well set. We’ve been sending stallions for many years over to Sandra in the UK. Manor Marble, who won previously in Clifden and had that great year last year for us, he’ll eventually go to Sandra.

“She’ll do the ridden job with him and then he will come back home. The idea is that we would breed them to suitable mares over the first couple of years so that we have a batch of youngsters coming through by the time they reach Sandra in England. Then if they do well, which they usually do because Sandra is amazing, they start to make a name for themselves and there are already some youngsters by him waiting in the wings. That model has worked quite well for us over the years.”

With regard to what he looks for, Burke says type comes first. “We would always say at home that it’s type first. But equally as important is temperament - you could have the most amazing pony in the world, but if it doesn’t have temperament it’s never going to be able to showcase how good it is. Secondly, we have to remember that these are ponies and many will be ridden by children. We’re incredibly lucky to have the kind of stallions that are known for their good temperaments. Ability and technique over a pole is also important but it’s certainly type first for us.”

And for those looking to follow in his footsteps, Joe says the Connemara Pony Sales in Clifden is a great place to start. “Where else would you get such a cross-section of ponies regardless of what you are looking for? Then, in terms of getting them ready to show, there’s no secret - it’s a lot of elbow grease! They need as much prep for in-hand as they do for ridden, they must be on the bit, moving forward and moving correctly. There’s no short cuts.

“Genuinely, I just count myself as so lucky to be handed the reins of these amazing ponies. We have had some unbelievable moments but one that stands out among many is winning our first championship at Clifden in 2009 with Currachmore Cashel - I don’t know if a championship has ever been celebrated more either before that or after that!

“It was the culmination of 20 years of showing. He’s 25 now, still at home and still covering mares! He really is the pony of a lifetime. Another would be Banks Timber winning at the Olympia and then last year at the Highland when Sandra and I both got our HOYS tickets, I won champion in-hand overall and she won the overall champion ridden, that was just amazing and something we will always be trying to recapture.”