GURTEEN Jennifer’s (Glencarrig Knight x Gurteen Eimer) Supreme Championship win will go down in the history books for many reasons, with the crowd’s reaction being one of them. The rushing of Ring One by spectators to support the newly-crowned champion on Wednesday evening last was one that rivalled that of an All-Ireland final.

The announcement of the Cathal Mullen-bred mare as the 101st Connemara Pony Show Supreme Champion was so popular amongst onlookers that the professional photographs hadn’t even been completed before the mare and handler Brian Mullen, Cathal’s brother, were engulfed in a sea of well-wishers. Momentary order was resumed as commentator Cathriona O’Toole asked for calm, so the official images could be finalised.

Speaking to The Irish Field from Dubai, where he is based, Cathal was still in shock from the result: “When I heard her number called out, I ran straight to Dad and just hugged him. I can’t fully remember what happened in the hours afterward, it was like living in a dream come true.”

Ponies are a religion in the Mullen household and the breeding programme at Gurteen Connemara Ponies is a full family effort. While Cathal and Brian both work full-time, they credit their father Pat’s dedication to the ponies for allowing the breeding programme to progress. “He does most of the work at home. We are all in contact every day about the ponies, but we would be lost without Dad,” Cathal continued.

No strangers to breeding championship quality, the Mullens have bred ponies such as Gurteen Cathal, who stood Supreme Champion for Kevin Bolger in 2013. However last week’s victory was the family’s first Supreme Championship win of their own. “We have never been afraid to sell good ponies and it’s great to see them go on for their new owners, but it’s been incredible for us to get the Supreme with this mare that we bred and own,” said Jennifer’s breeder.

Jennifer herself is unique in her achievements on the Clifden Showgrounds. On her first outing to Clifden in 2014, she won the filly foal class before claiming the Foal Championship outright, shown by Pat on that occasion. The following year, she won the yearling filly class, led up by Cathal. In 2016, she won the two-year-old filly class before claiming the Junior Championship, this time shown by Brian. “We believe she is the only pony to have won all three championships, since the foal championship was introduced,” Cathal commented.

Ten years later, with Brian on the lead again, the mare had her first senior win in Ring Two’s 10- to 15-year-old Mare without foal at foot class. Cathal said: “We were hopeful she would do well in her class, she had won the Broodmare Championship at the Midlands Connemara Pony Breeders’ Show in July and we thought she was looking well. But it’s Clifden, so you never know how it is going to go.”

Meaningful

Both Cathal and Brian have expressed how meaningful it was to have their father there to witness the Championship win. “Seeing him so joyous going around the town and for him to really enjoy it at his age means everything. It hasn’t always been easy with ponies, there have been some bad days. Everyone knows what he puts into these ponies, so in ways it’s a relief to have it won and for him to be able to be a part of it,” a delighted Cathal continued.

Jennifer embodied the time, attention and consideration the family put into ponies’ pedigrees, as she is a descendant of an exceptional damline. In 1980, Pat purchased a foal from the iconic mare Gloves Misty, the only pony ever to win three Supreme Championships in the history of the Connemara Pony Show. “There have been quite a few Clifden champions bred on that line,” Cathal explained.

In a full-circle moment, Independent - Jennifer’s grandam - won the same 10-15-year-old mare class in 2008. At the time, the class was open to mares with foals at foot, Brian and Pat showed Independent with the foal Gurteen Eimer alongside her, who is now Jennifer’s mother. As life begins to return to normality, the mare is in foal for next spring to Grange Finian Sparrow, a stallion that the family have on lease from Stephen McCarty.

Despite being based in Dubai for over a decade, the Gurteen Ponies are part of Cathal’s daily life with multiple visits home arranged annually to coordinate with foal season and, of course, Show Week. “There is never a mare covered without the three of us agreeing on it. Generally, Brian and I make the decision, but Dad will always have an input. We like the same type of ponies, so that helps - we are sticklers on breeding. You can have a nice pony, but if it doesn’t have pedigree behind it, you might not end up with anything. We will go through the pedigrees on WhatsApp or a call before coming to an agreement on it,” Cathal concluded. Regardless of distance, the grá of the Connemara is ingrained into Cathal and the binding focus connecting the Mullens on a daily basis.

Geoffrey Heanue and Niamh Philbin with their children Alannah and Cian and their reserve champion Derrylough April at the 2026 Connemara Pony Show in Clifden \ Foto-job.com

Pride and joy

Standing Reserve Champion to Jennifer was Geoffrey Heanue and Niamh Philbin’s Derrylough April (Castlestrange Finn x Starlight Butterfly), winner of the 16-year-old and over mare with or without foal at foot class. Speaking of their home-bred’s achievement, Niamh described the mare as their ‘pride and joy’.

“Derrylough April is the seventh generation of the dam line, which has been in Geoffrey’s family since 1944. It traces back to the mare Cloon Bay, who was owned by Geoffrey’s grandfather. She is by my father Michael’s stallion Castlestrange Finn. We have loved her since she was a foal and has won twice before for us at Clifden.”

A family centred on the pony, daughter Alannah was ringside to wait in suspense as the Championship deliberations went on, while son Cian had to make the difficult decision between holding the coveted Sam Maguire Cup or a day at the Show. Luckily for Cian, he got to experience both the joy of Sam Maguire and the thrill of the Parade of Champions all in one week!

“We were in disbelief for a minute when the result was called and then it was all the years of hard work and dedication being rewarded,” Niamh shared, as she relived the moments after the Championship. The family from Louisburgh, Co Mayo, experienced a similar envelopment of support within the ring once the placings had been announced. “It was a really lovely experience. The whole pony community were there and we have had so many well wishes from so many genuine people. It means an awful lot to see people being happy for you.”

The success didn’t stop there. It was Alannah’s turn to secure a Clifden rosette on Thursday, when she finished fourth in the Under-14 Ridden class with her pony Edenmist Bobs Your Uncle Too. With April scanned in foal for next year to Bohola Mirah, the future of the family’s breeding programme looks in capable hands, as Alannah and Cian took it in turns to lead the mare through the Clifden streets, as part of the parade celebrating the week’s Champions.

Drumhass Silver Shadow winner the 3 year old colt class and the Junior Championship at Clifden Show at the Parade of Champions with Priscilla Diamond. Owned by Diamon's Equine Renvyle \ Rynes Walker

Golden dun

As Wednesday’s proceedings got underway, the Show was officially opened by champion National Hunt trainer Willie Mullins and Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary. The morning classes saw John Joe O’Neill and Liam Walsh take to Ring One to judge this year’s youngstock classes. Following their victory in the three-year-old colt class, the Diamonds Equine Renvyle-owned Drumhass Silver Shadow (Silver Shadow x Rathcline Pearl’s Star) was called forward, with Priscilla Diamond as the 2026 Junior Champion.

“It was a total surprise,” Priscilla shared her joy with the crowd, as part of the Connemara Pony Tales live podcast recording, hosted by Lucinda Kelly and Joe Burke. “His breeders Noel Quinn and Moya Shea would come to me every year to cover mares. I remember them coming with his dam after he was born. They opened the box and out came this golden dun foal - I just went ‘wow’; he was stunning looking. I asked for first refusal on him. They contacted me when he was about seven months and I went up to Leitrim and brought him home.”

As a family focused on performance, the plan is that he will be broken over the winter by Priscilla’s daughter Talitha and he is available to mares as part of Diamonds Equine Renvyle’s artificial insemination clinic.

Standing Reserve Junior Champion was the two-year-old filly class winner Teach Mór Clodagh (Thorgal De L’Aubier x Clover Hill Princess Jade), owned and bred by Padraic Folan, shown on the day by son Sean, who was awarded Best Handler of the Show for his efforts in the ring on Wednesday.

Champion foal Fiddaun Realtin (Rogaire Na Locha x Millars Pride) owned by Cathal and Dervla Gavaghan Forde \ Rynes Walker

Foal champion

Ring Two’s judging party of Malachy Gorham and Hubert Laurent assessed the best of this year’s foals as part of their array of classes. With large numbers showcased in both the filly and colt foal classes, it was Cathal and Dervla Gavaghan Forde’s dun filly Fiddaun Realtin (Rogaire Na Locha x Millers Pride), who took the honours in the Foal Championship.

The couple, who balance ponies while working full-time in health care, journeyed from Castleblaney, Co Monaghan to attend the Connemara Pony Show for the second time. Cathal originally purchased the filly’s dam Millers Pride from her breeder Patrick Durkin as a yearling. Last spring, she had a Pumpkins Pondi foal and Cathal was preparing to go back to cover with him again when he heard from Pauric Howley the unfortunate news that the stallion had passed away.

“So I was in limbo, I wasn’t sure where I was going to go,” he explained. Having seen a photo of Rogaire Na Locha on Facebook, Cathal was inspired to try a cover to the grey stallion. “He was an outcross as well, so we went to Padraic Hallinan with her and she took one cover. That’s how we have an Rogaire Na Locha filly foal.”

He describes the decision to bring the filly to Clifden as “taking a chance entering her. When we were driving into Recess I said to Dervla, wouldn’t it be lovely to finish within the top 10. It’s very hard to win in Clifden, never mind get a Championship. Even looking at the names that are engraved on the Cup, they are all very seasoned showing people who have won it.”

He credits Martin and Mary Murphy with introducing him to the love of showing. The meaning of the week was encapsulated when Pat Durkin joined the crowds lining the streets of Clifden to support Cathal and Dervla as they paraded their new champion through the streets. “If Pat hadn’t sold me the filly’s dam in the first place, we wouldn’t be here so it means a lot [that] he could see them in the parade.”

Winner of the colt foal class, Lankill Hercules (Riverwood Razmataz x Lankill Lily), took Reserve Champion Foal for breeders Cathy and Charlie Hughes.

Lack of stallions

As Madeleine Beckmann and Sean Dunne took up judging of the afternoon classes in Ring One, the lack of participation in the older stallion class was stark with only four - half of the number entered - ponies showcasing on the day. In many ways it is a missed opportunity, given the variety and number of mare owners from across the world present ringside. There are few showcases as big as the Connemara Pony Show to present stallions to such an audience. The hope for future Show days would be that fuller numbers would return to this class.

As the evening broodmare classes got underway, Emer McNamara’s Show day of dreams were realised, when taking an emotional win in the six to nine-year-old mare with foal at foot class with her father Joe’s Lehid Ellen (Glencarrig Prince x Lehid Marie). Emer has personally put in so much work over the years across the wider Connemara pony community.

The appreciation and support of the McNamara family was audible ringside as the John F. Conneely-bred mare was called forward as the Champion Broodmare of the Show.

Reserve champion broodmare was Henry O’Toole’s Castle Charm (Glencarrig Knight - Castle Urchin).