PATRICK Curran’s Glencarrig Douvan made history at the 100th Connemara Pony Show in Clifden this week when winning both the Supreme in-hand and ridden championships.

The seven-year-old stallion by Glencarrig Knight, who was supreme champion himself in 2014, is out of Wyncroft Dawn (Laerkens Cascade Dawn), was bred and is owned by the Curran family from Moycullen, Co Galway.

He topped Wednesday’s senior stallion class and was later called forward as the supreme champion, before going on to win Thursday’s ridden stallion class and then the overall ridden championship under Craughwell’s Grace Maxwell Murphy. It is believed to be the first time a pony has completed the in-hand and ridden championship double in the same year at the show which celebrated its centenary year in style in the capital of Connemara.

“It’s what dreams are made of,” Curran told The Irish Field. “To win one of these championships in a lifetime is a highlight, but to win both and in the same year is incredible. It’s a feeling I wish I could bottle up, as I don’t want it to end. I’m just so proud of Douvan. I knew he was special from a very young age and I am so happy he has these titles to his name and in a special year as the show celebrates it’s 100th anniversary.”

The reserve Champion Ridden Pony was Slievebloom Hilda (Brock Lodge Buster x Slieve Bloom Gail), bred by Joseph Conroy, owned by Beatrice Hughes and ridden by Lucy Watson.

Reserve in-hand champion on Wednesday was Henry O’Toole’s Castle Charm (Glencarrig Knight - Castle Urchin) who also took the champion broodmare crown.

The junior champion went to Moate Echo, who is owned by Malachy Gorham, bred by Vincent Kelly and by the sire Magherafadda Lad out of Derrynamacka Rose. The reserve junior champion went to Moorland Snowdrift, by Lucky Rebel out of Kilpatrick Snowdrop, owned and bred by Cathy Snow and Martin Coyne.

A full report on the four-day Connemara Pony Show will appear in next week’s paper.