Pony team wins Star of the Month

MANY congratulations to the Irish pony eventing team who were voted by the public as the winners of the Gain Equine Nutrition/The Irish Field Star of the Month award for August.

Chef d’equipe Becky Cullen’s team of Ben Connors, Ted O’Leary, Caoimhe Crozier and Sarah Keane, along with squad members Grace Murtagh and Rachel Lucey, took the bronze medal at the FEI European Eventing Championships for ponies.

Teagasc series returns

TEAGASC’s popular series, ‘Let’s Talk Equine’, returns after a short break on October 5th next. Equine breeders can learn more about how DNA testing can support them by joining the Teagasc ‘Let’s Talk Equine’ webinar at 8.30pm on Tuesday, October 5th.

Romy Morrin-O’Donnell of Weatherbys Scientific will join Wendy Conlon, Teagasc equine specialist, to discuss the topic of DNA testing as relevant to parentage testing; risk for hereditary diseases; coat colour genetics and more. Questions can be submitted live using the zoom ‘Q and A’ facility or in advance to wendy.conlon@teagasc.ie.

Romy works as International Sales Director for Weatherbys Scientific laboratory. She brings over 30 years’ experience in laboratory applications of genotyping to the bovine, equine, ovine and canine industries with major emphasis on parentage verification and animal identity. She has a strong interest in the scientific areas of Agri-Genomics, traceability, food security, animal identification, animal welfare and the environment.

It is necessary to register in advance at www.teagasc.ie/letstalkequine where previous episodes of the series can also be accessed.

Barcelona squad

DEFENDING champions Ireland named the squad for the 2021 Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final, which takes place at Real Club De Polo in Barcelona from October 1st-3rd.

Due to the cancellation of the 2020 final due to Covid-19, Ireland have had a two-year wait to defend their title and this year’s squad, named by team manager Michael Blake, features a mixture of youth and experience.

The Irish squad for the 2021 Longines FEI Nations Cup Final in Barcelona is:

  • Galway’s Michael Duffy with Zilton SL Z – owned by HMF Equestrian and Katherine Duffy
  • Mayo’s Michael G. Duffy with Lapuccino 2 (ISH) – owned by Carl Hanley Sporthorses
  • Offaly’s Darragh Kenny with VDL Cartello – owned by Lorcan Gallagher and Heathman Farm LLC
  • Tipperary’s Denis Lynch with Cristello – owned by Onyx Consulting Ltd
  • Clare’s Eoin McMahon with Chacon 2 – owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze

    • Mullingar auction

    MULLINGAR Equestrian Centre, Co Westmeath, is hosting their three- and four-year-old Loose Jumping Championships and Performance Auction on Friday, October 1st. This lively format should provide for an entertaining evening in the indoor arena. There will be cash prizes to the winning lots in each horse/pony category and there is separate height categories for ponies (12.2/13.2/14.2hh).

    Friday evening’s auction will be followed by an auction on Saturday, October 2nd of foals, youngstock and broodmares.

    HSI breaking scheme

    ENTRIES for the Horse Sport Ireland breaking and schooling scheme close on October 11th next. The scheme is open to breeders with young horses between three and six years of age. Preference will be given to mares/fillies who completed the HSI X-ray Screening Scheme 2020/2021. Full details on Horse Sport Ireland’s website.