A WHOPPING 954 ponies went through the sales ring over five days of Connemara Pony Sales in Clifden, Co Galway last week, finishing with a phenomenal clearance rate of 81% (70% in 2021) and a top price of €15,200 (€12,500 in 2021).

The sale was increased to five days for the first time since 2010 due to the huge number of entries and the sales company were happy with their decision when, on Thursday morning, top prices for ponies came thick and fast, culminating in well-known Mayo rider and producer Hannah Gordon selling HansFree (Lot 147) for €15,200.

Any fears that the trade for Connemara ponies was slowing down were quickly forgotten and the buoyancy continued throughout the weekend when the top priced foal was sold for €6,100. Ann de Courcey of the Connemara Pony Sales commented: “It was a great sale, far better than we expected to be honest. Thursday and Friday for adult ponies got off to a flying start and that gave people confidence to go back in and buy foals.

“Trade was as strong on Monday evening at the very end as it was on Thursday. All the sellers were naturally very happy; the buyers were saying it is gone mad dear and there were people there to buy that couldn’t buy them this year as there were too dear.”

With just one final sale to come in 2022 (December 3rd), de Courcey added 2022 has been an exceptional year for the sales company. “We never had as many sale days and it has been an exceptional year, there is big big demand for ponies. We are getting a lot of traction from Europe, more than we ever had. We had a new French buyer for the first time this week, he bought 19 ponies over five days.

“We were expecting the UK market to be softer, but it wasn’t at all, and we actually had some people return that hadn’t been here for a couple of years, as well as quite a few new faces. We are very pleased.”

Commercial

The top lot of the sale, HansFree, is by the KWPN stallion Hans (Kojak) out of the Connemara mare Brosna Masie (Silver Cloud). Consigned by show rider and producer Hannah Gordon, the six-year-old 157cm gelding has plenty of experience and was third in the Horse Sport Ireland EI90 autumn eventing development series at Claremorris last month.

The dapple grey caught the eye on Thursday evening and the bids immediately flew up to €11,000 and, from there, crept up to €12,200 before he was put on the market. There was a prolonged tussle until the hammer eventually fell at €15,200 in favour of Finola Heslin of Heslin Sport Horses in Longford.

“I saw him entered in the sale and have purchased from Hannah before and I know she does a great job. He is a commercial type and I just really liked the look of him and I have to like what I buy,” Finola told The Irish Field.

“I asked Hannah for a video of him before the sale and we discussed him at home, I had it in my head to give €15,000 for him. There is always a market for a 15.2hh Connemara cross and he is up and running with plenty of mileage.”

Finola’s daughter Shauna will now ride the gelding. “I registered him with SJI and we will give him a little bit of a record; he has evented and done working hunter. We will jump him now until Christmas and if there is a customer in the meantime so be it, everything is for sale here.” Finola also purchased an unbroken three-year-old at the sale and was the breeder of Lot 122, Currabawn Shadow, who was sold for €12,000.

Lot 24, Bracken Dromartin (Hector Of Loughfadda x Knockboy Beauty) was the highest priced full-bred Connemara when sold for €12,600 in Clifden \ Rynes Walker

Pure-bred

Kieran O’Connor from Co Cork signed for the highest priced pure-bred Connemara in the experienced five-year-old gelding Bracken Dromartin (Lot 24). By Hector of Loughfadda out of Knockboy Beauty (Streamstown Mickey), the 148cm dark brown gelding has accumulated 79 SJI points under Holly Maher and the pair won the 148cm Novice championship at the Connacht Region Pony Championships in September. Consigned to the sale by Noel Maher, he was knocked down to O’Connor for €12,600 early on Thursday morning.

Britain’s Hannah Taylor was busy as usual at the Clifden venue, signing for a total of 11 lots alongside partner Patrick O’Gorman. The highest priced of those at €12,200 was Lot 272, Ashbrook Uasal, on Friday morning. The six-year-old 15.1hh gelding, sold by Pauline Kirwan, is by Ashbrook Thunder and was described as a quality performance pony with three good paces and he already has experience at events.

Lot 473, filly foal Ballygarris Goldrush (Bohola Mirah x Ballygarris Golden Lady) makes the highest price for a foal at the October sales when sold for €6,100 \ Rynes Walker

Regular buyer

Ballinasloe’s Kieran Egan bought two lots at €12,000. He had the final say on the aforementioned Moonlight Silver Shadow five-year-old gelding Currabawn Shadow (Lot 122), consigned by Christina Knowles, who has plenty of mileage competing in all disciplines at riding club and local shows as well as jumping up to 90cm.

He also paid the same amount to Michael O’Looney for Lot 16, Ballymarkham Anbally, the top-priced four-year-old of the sale. By the popular performance sire Silver Shadow, the 14.2hh pony has competed at training shows and is hoped to make a top performance pony.

Two more ponies made five-figure sums. The first at €11,000 was Mary and Kevin Whelan’s Crogill Bready Bui (Lot 240), a four-year-old dun 153cm gelding by Templebready Fear Bui, knocked down to Patrick O’Gorman.

Regular sale-topping vendor Tiernan Gray signed for Lot 108, Ali West Star, an eight-year-old 148cm gelding by Glencarrig Prince at €10,000. Gray also had the final say on the top-priced mare of the sale, that was Colleen Glasgow’s Muckrim Hannah (Lot 34), an eight-year-old by Rusheen Boy.

Traditionally the strongest of the year for foal trade, last week was no different in Clifden when prices for foals held strong, bolstered by the sale-topping figure of €6,100 (€6,000 in 2021).

For the third year-in-a-row, Michael Jennings from Co Mayo consigned the sale-topping foal in Lot 473, Ballygarris Goldrush. By Bohola Mirah out of Ballygarris Golden Lady (Black Shadow), the dun filly foal was the subject of much excitement in the ring, eventually knocked down to Beatrice Hughes.

Athlone’s PJ Watson gave €5,300 for Sean Heneghan’s Prosperous Poppy (Lot 860), a dun foal by Rogaire Na Locha out of the Tempo Active Atlas mare Prosperous Lillian. Also breaking the €5,000 barrier was Mary Dermody’s filly foal by Punkins Pondi out of Derrylackey May (Monaghanstown Barney), sold to William McCann. Five foals were sold for €4,000 or more, while plenty more were in the €3,000 bracket.

As usual, the UK market remained the strongest with 39 ponies finding new homes across the sea, while 34 were sold to France, 21 to Belgium and more to mainland Europe. MartEye remains a vital component of the sale with 90 ponies sold online. The next and final sale of the 2022 calendar takes place on Saturday, December 3rd and may extend to a two-day sale subject to entries.

Lot 272, Ashbrook Uasal, was the highest priced pony on Friday at the Clifden Pony Sales making €12,200 in the ring \ Rynes Walker