Susan Finnerty

THE showing community has rallied around a young exhibitor whose Connemara pony was sabotaged at a west of Ireland show last Sunday.

The winning pony, owned and exhibited by a minor, had its tail cut off in an act which has been condemned by the Irish Shows Association as “disgusting behaviour”.

The incident took place at the Connaught Spring Show, held at Ballinrobe Racecourse, where a wide range of showing classes was held at the popular Mayo fixture.

The pony, exhibited on the day by its owner who is aged under 18, had won one class and a reserve championship in the Connemara section.

When the family later returned to their horsebox to prepare for the supreme championship, having watched other show classes, they found that two-thirds of the prizewinner’s tail had been cut off in their absence. The pony was subsequently withdrawn from the supreme championship.

There has been widespread criticism of the sabotage since within the showing and Connemara communities, while the well-liked young owner was also inundated with messages of support, including on social media.

The minor’s family declined to comment on the matter when contacted during the week by The Irish Field.

The incident has been strongly condemned by the Irish Shows Association (ISA), under whose auspices Sunday’s show was held.

In a statement released by the umbrella body for the country’s 130-plus agricultural shows, ISA president Jim Harrison stated that the organisation was “at a loss” to explain how someone could resort to these tactics.

“Cutting the tail of a prize-winning pony is disgusting behaviour and is really stooping to the lowest form of sportsmanship. We can only hope that the young exhibitor will not be deflected from participating in future shows and will continue to show his pony during the season ahead,” the statement continued.

The association also expressed the wish that the appearance of the pony’s tail should not hinder its chances in other show classes this year, as it evidently occurred as a result of a malicious act and not a skin condition, such as sweet itch.

“The appearance of a tail, due to an incident like this, should not rule out an animal being awarded a prize, if otherwise considered worthy of being placed,” concluded the ISA statement.

Sabotage incidents are not unknown in the horse world, with one of the most shocking cases involving the show hunter Woodfield Indo at the Dublin Horse Show in 2009. He was discovered in his stable with slash wounds on his shoulder, but still went on to win the supreme champion hunter title with owner Rosemary Connors.

Since then, some owners of fancied champion hopes have arranged night-time security for their prizewinners, while the RDS ramped up its security arrangements for horse show week.