THE Mullen family from Gurteen in Roundstone, Co Galway lifted the Jan Harold Koelichen Cup on Wednesday evening at the Connemara Pony Show in Clifden, when their home-bred mare Gurteen Jennifer was called forward as the 2026 Supreme In-hand Champion.
On her way to the championship, the 12-year-old mare by Glencarrig Knight out of Gurteen Eimer (by Linsfort Barney) won the 10 to 15-year-old mare without foal at foot class in Ring 2. The reserve champion was the Geoffrey Heanue-bred Derrylough April (Castlestrange Fionn - Starlight Butterfly), winner of the earlier 16-year-old and over mare without foal class.
“We’ve bred champions at Clifden, but we’ve never owned and bred one, so this is just something special,” said Brian Mullen on his champion.
“Gurteen Jennifer has created a bit of history today because in 2014 she was foal champion; in 2016 she was junior champion and today she’s supreme champion. She’s done the three, which I don’t think has ever been done before,” Brian added.
Brian’s father, Pat Mullen, was visibly emotional and added: “It’s a religion in our house. It was a big day the day he [Brian] was born, but it’s a bigger day today!”
Ridden champions
Grace Maxwell Murphy completed back-to-back ridden championships on Thursday when riding her own six-year-old stallion Glenville Glic (Glencarrig Knight - Clooneybreen Peigín) to the title. In 2025, Maxwell Murphy rode Glencarrig Douvan to take the championship.
Reversing the placings from the Dublin Horse Show two weeks’ ago, Maxwell Murphy won the ridden stallion class by seeing off the English radar Copperbeach Encore and Vikki Smith.
Called forward in the reserve slot was Chloe Lacey riding Emma O’Gorman’s five-year-old gelding Ballylee Lemon (Slackport Prince - Lemonfield Lass).
The 2026 Connemara Pony Show, which was officially opened on Wednesday by National Hunt trainer Willie Mullins, who stayed around to watch all the proceedings of the day with his wife Jackie, continued on Friday with working hunter classes, the feature Clifden High Performance and the popular Puissance competition.
A full report from the event will appear in next week’s paper.