IRISH-produced ponies recorded their best results at last week’s Horse of the Year Show in Friday’s working hunter section where, on her third competitive visit to the Birmingham extravaganza, Nancy Lyons Teehan won the open 133cms class on her mother Louise Lyons’s Dartans Séoda Bán.

Easily the youngest pony among the 17 entries, the five-year-old palomino mare jumped an excellent clear round for the highest score in the division. Her stable-companion, the 11-year-old grey gelding Noble Jasper Carrot, who finished sixth, was ridden by Cuffesgrange show jumper Rachel Sheehan who had undergone a crash course in showing over the previous three weeks.

“Nancy was absolutely delighted,” said her mother Louise Lyons. “Particularly as it meant she got to ride in the international arena for the championship. Rachel was very cool on the day, she was unlucky to have a fence down.”

In the international arena, Nancy came up against her English cousin, Ruby Ward, who finished second in the 153cms class, and then went reserve, on the eight-year-old Irish-bred gelding Noble Banksy who, in common with the winner, has no recorded pedigree. Making her debut in the international show jumping classes at HOYS, Ruby’s step-sister Emily Ward won Saturday’s 1.50m speed class on Wild Star HF.

Nancy didn’t want for support in the class or championship as, along with her cousins, aunts and grandmother Anne Lyons, she was cheered on by her sister Robin (10) and brother Nicky George (8), who also got a week off school to attend the show. Her father, Nicky Teehan, flew over on Friday morning in support and also on the flight were many of Nancy’s friends from the Irish Pony Society circuit.

Versatile

“Dartans Séoda Bán is a pony I first saw as a four-year-old when a client brought her in for schooling,” revealed Lyons.

“I liked her straight away and bought her for Nancy who has not only competed with her in working hunters but also in Pony Club Minimus competitions.

"If we hadn’t been so busy showing this year, she probably would have evented the mare with the Pony Club as well. Nancy and Robin will probably get another couple of years with the mare after which she will be for sale.”

Louise herself competed Lady Perdita Blackwood’s Irish Draught gelding Clandeboye in Wednesday’s horse working hunter championship (in which many Irish-breds were placed) but didn’t feature on the seven-year-old Scrapman grey who, like Dartans Séoda Bán, qualified for HOYS at the Northern Ireland Festival in early May.

“There are more opportunities for ponies to qualify in Ireland but it would be great if there were even more qualifiers and more for horses as well,” commented Lyons who is training a few young pointer-to-pointers and some older racehorses. “It’s hard financially competing at these shows and I would be looking for sponsorship interests etc to help support the operation. I teach and bring on and sell ponies to help with it all.”

Good on Goor

Before leaving the working hunters, we must mention the second-place finish in the Intermediate of Co Wicklow’s Charlotte Goor riding her mother Fiona’s nine-year-old ISH mare Ardville Whispering Hope (Kah Clintender – Ardville Killycairn, by VDL Arkansas) who was bred in Co Fermanagh by Ernest Somerville.

Also, riding for her mother Zoe Price, Holly Logan finished sixth in the 143cms class on board the seven-year-old Connemara gelding Owens Shadow (by Silver Shadow). Here, Avril Kelly’s 10-year-old Connemara mare Dunran Love In The Mist (by I Love You Melody) finished fifth under Britain’s Ollie Rowlands whose compatriot, Anya Dewey Clarke, won the class on the 18-year-old Connemara gelding Tullibards Silver Mine (by Carnabay Mirah).

As the show opened on the Wednesday, the black Shetland stallion Wikners Gryffindor, who is owned by Tony Bell, chairman of NPS Area 32 (NI), finished third in the mixed ridden Exmoor/Shetland of the year class.

Thursday’s Mountain and Moorland working hunter championship was won by the 143cms class winners Britain’s Amy Canavan-Smith and the seven-year-old grey gelding Clonfert Melody’s Boy (I Love You Melody – Fernville Abbey, by Frederiksminde Hazy Match). The action was closely followed at the Fernville Pony Stud in Moycullen, Co Galway by the rider’s father-in-law, Jimmy Canavan, who imported the great I Love You Melody from France as a three-year-old.

In Saturday’s children’s riding pony section, the best result for an Irish-bred animal was recorded in the 128cms class where the Patrick Ahern-owned, Lily Ahern-ridden Barossa Royalist finished second. The following afternoon, the Barossa Stud-bred nine-year-old gelding (Cusop Dimension – Barossa Royal Irish, by Sianwood Arkle) filled the reserve slot in the part-bred championship.

Back to Saturday’s 138cms class where Heidi Cooper finished sixth on the six-year-old brown mare Goldengrove Prima-Donna (Wycroft Rainbow Dancer – Jackets Delightful, by Cusop Dimension) who is being produced in England by Elliee Stunt for her Co Tipperary owner/breeder, Sarah Rymer.

There were many Irish-bred ponies placed in Saturday’s show hunter pony section, particularly in the 153cms class which was won by Great Britain’s Mia Donaldson on the 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare CSF Chantilly Galway Girl (Arkan – Miss Gui Khan, by Guidam) who was bred in Co Galway by Patrick Connolly.