TWO young Irish riders competed at the British Show Pony Society Area 17 fixture at the Onley Grounds Equestrian Complex near Rugby in England on Sunday, March 8th, when they dominated the show hunter pony section, qualifying for the Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead in July (21st to 26th) in the process.

Co Tyrone’s Casey-Lee Millar won the 133cm qualifier, and the day’s show hunter pony championship, with her mother Eileen’s eight-year-old Irish Sport Pony gelding Out Of The West (Lehid Canal Prince - Farranderry Lucy Liu, by Desarbe Falcon). The grey, on whom Casey-Lee won her 133cm class at Dublin last August, was bred in Co Tipperary by Katie and Malachy Hehir.

Out Of The West is being produced in England at present by Sharn Linney, while Casey-Lee is being kept busy at home with golden oldies, such as Bunbury Suarez. She is also working hard with some novice ponies, such as the recently-gelded Welsh Section A nine-year-old Springbourne Commodore and the eight-year-old Section B gelding Pillheath Arlo, who will be aimed at working hunter classes both here and in Britain.

https://foto.ifj.ie/fotoweb/archives/5006-Irish-Horse-World/Irish%20Horse%20World/2025/78%20Show%20Hunter%20Pony%20133cm%20S96_5156.JPG.info#c=%2Ffotoweb%2Farchives%2F5006-Irish-Horse-World%2F%3Fq%3Dcasey-lee

Casey-Lee Millar and Out Of The West at the 2025 Dublin Horse Show \ 1st Class Images

Standing reserve in the Area 17 show hunter pony championship that day was Co Kildare’s Amira Curran on board a new ride for this season, CSG Chantilly Galway Girl, winner of the 153cm qualifier.

This 13-year-old bay Irish Sport Horse mare, who, too, is being produced in England but in Yorkshire by Team Ahern, is by Arkan and was bred in Co Galway by Patrick Connolly out of Miss Gui Khan.

That Guidam mare is dam previously of, among others, the Cormint mare Tullibards Be The One, who was a very close second of 35 runners in the EI100 National Championship last September.

In the same section at that Area 17 show, there was an RIHS qualifying win, on her British debut, in the 143cm class for the Goldengrove Stud-bred five-year-old ISP mare Goldengrove Seraphina (Baltydaniel Silver Hero - Golden Grove Tamara, by Holyoake Czar). Now owned and produced by Team Jinks, the bay only left the Nenagh nursery in the autumn.

Area 6 held a show at Onley Grounds EC the previous day, when the first RIHS 138cm show pony qualifier of the season was won by another mare bred at the same Co Tipperary stud, Golden Grove Picture Perfect.

This five-year-old, who was broken by Claire Scott’s daughter Annarose, is by the stud’s own show pony stallion Wycroft Rainbow Dancer out of Jackets Delight (by Cusop Dimenson). She is thus a full-sister to Goldengrove Prima Donna, who qualified for both the RIHS and the Horse of the Year Show last year, finishing sixth at the latter venue.