THE Irish Pony Society held its annual foal show by kind permission of Tomas Ryan and family at the Tipperary Equestrian Centre on Bank Holiday Monday.

Challenging weather conditions over the weekend meant that some competitors couldn’t travel as intended, which resulted in a reduced, but quality, entry.

IPS chairman Jeff Grace found his first winner, and subsequent horse foal champion, in Padraic Whelan’s Kilmurray Kayceys Legacy (Divine Elliot out of Kilgabriel Kacey), who is a lovely example of a traditional cob and was beautifully turned out for the show.

In the plaited section, the Barrossa Stud hunter pony class went to Carol Persse’s chesnut colt Hollycreek Sir Troy, one of the last foals by Astral Heartbreaker out of Co Cork breeder Josephine O’Driscoll’s Waitwith Welsh Beauty (by Bethel Rhodri). Persse’s Goresbridge purchase went on to do her proud by being crowned the WPCS of Ireland part-bred champion, the plaited champion and the Connolly’s Red Mills overall champion for the Josie O’Brien trophy.

In reserve, having won the mini pony class, was Chantelle Stanford’s Veebee Enchanted Warrior (Ffermymorlais Tempo out of Glasfach Enchantress, by Talgoed Heathcliff), who was bred in England by Victoria Burton. This beautiful dun colt went on to take the Section A colt class, the WPCS of Ireland overall colt title and the WPCS of Ireland pure-bred Welsh foal championship.

Emma O’Donohue showed her home-bred three-year-old Connemara gelding Poetic Astro (Poetic Kelly out of Rusheenduff Ashley, by Glencairn Surprise) to win the two and three-year-old class en route to landing the youngstock championship.

Padraic Whelan, pictured with his Traditional coloured cob, Kilmurray Kaceys Legacy, is congratulated by IPS chairman Jeff Grace at the annual foal show in Tipperary