The Northern Ireland Connemara Pony Breeders Association
Aims and Objectives
To develope and promote a comprehensive and integrated strategy to support the breeding, rearing, production, training, welfare and marketing of quality pure-bred and part-bred Connemara ponies in the north of Ireland.
To recognise and promote the Connemara pony as a successful and versatile competition pony, suitable for all members of the family.
To maintain and further develope our relationship with the parent society, The Connemara Pony Breeders Society, ( Cumann Lucht Capaillini Chonamara ), based in Clifden, Co.Galway.
To mediate on behalf of our members with the parent society, and other societies as requested, and keep them informed of procedures ( e.g. for registrations ), alterations of policy, and forthcoming Society events, as soon as possible after the N.I.C.P.B.A. receives notification of such events.
To arrange and organise meetings and enjoyable events for the members, of an informative and educational nature, promoting understanding of the rich heritage and history of their ponies, and to give the members the opportunity to become better acquainted with their fellow Connemara enthusiasts.
To recognise also the value of the part-bred Connemara as a credit to the breed from which it springs, and to work for the introduction of part-bred classes where these ponies may demonstrate the virtues they inherit from their Connemara parent. The NICPBA was the first Connemara association to formally recognise the partbred Connemara, carried by a members' vote in February, 2007.
Membership
Those eligible for Full Adult Membership are people aged 18 and over , with an interest in the Connemara pony, and will pay an annual membership fee ( currently £15 ). Following the decision of the members at the November 2008 AGM, a second adult member at the same address pays just £10. Junior Members are especially welcome, and membership for them is free of charge when associated with a parent or guardian who is also a member.
Members are invited to renew for 2010. Thankyou.
History Of The Connemara Pony
Connacht……. The ‘Land of the children of Conn’.
Here on the harsh western seaboard of Ireland we find a pony whose origins go back some two and a half thousand years, to tough little dun horses ridden by fierce Celtic warriors who fled mainland Europe before the might of the Roman Empire.
Infused with the blood of Andalusia by survivors of the ill-fated Spanish Armada in the early seventeenth century, these ponies became the constant helpmates of the impoverished people of that stark, yet beautiful landscape. Wintering out, often with scarcely a rock or a whin bush between them and America, these hardy, dense boned ponies were honed by the ocean’s breath and by the limestone bedrock of their home…… the land known as ‘Connamara’.
The close working relationship between the people of the sea, (for the very word ‘mara’ is Gaelic for ‘sea’), and their treasured ponies ensured that only those with the most tractable temperaments were retained. Every mare worked for her living, often right up until foaling, for the folk were as demanding of their animals as they were of themselves. A yearly foal provided an invaluable source of income for the family, so any mares with breeding problems were weeded out of the population.
Today we are the trustees of that legacy, …….of the hardy, active, calm tempered little horse whose attributes stem from the hardships they shared with those folk of Connemara. We owe to them and to their ponies to preserve their qualities by careful breeding, keeping the diversity of bloodlines and treating the ponies with the dignity to which their heritage entitles them.
Let us celebrate…..The Connemara Pony !
A thousand thanks, Go raibh mile maith agaibh !
Finola Mulholland
Publications on the Connemara Pony
Miss Pat Lyne discovered the Connemara Pony for herself many years ago, and after buying her first Connemara, a 3 y-o filly named Arctic Moon, in 1961, her interest developed beyond breeding her own ponies, under the 'Chiltern' prefix, into a life-long research project. She is, in fact, curator of the Museum dedicated to Connemara and it's native pony, it's collection assembled in the old Station House in Clifden. She has written several books on the ponies and their owners and breeders, based on personal interviews and experiences. Her great love of the pony and depth of knowledge come across in all her books ! She can be contacted via her website, www.connemara-pony.net, and any of her books can be ordered there.
Her chief publications are :
Shrouded in Mist ( 1984 ) ISBN no. 0 - 9509674 -0-8 Hardback.
no. 0 - 9509674 -1-6 Paperback.
Out of The Mist ( 1990 ) ISBN no. 0 - 9509674-2-4.
Reflections Through the Mist ( 1994 )
As I See It ( 2006 ) ISBN no. 0-9509674 -6-7.
Widely regarded as the seminal work on the Connemara Pony, and available throught the CPBS is Elizabeth Petch's 'Connemara Pony Breeders' Society 1923 - 1998.' Full of photographs, it explores the history of the Society and the foundation stallion lines. Published in 1998, it draws on sources such as society minute books and records, show catalogues, annual reports, and publications going back to 1900. Mrs.Petch is an experienced breeder and respected judge of international reputation.
ISBN no. is 0-9502358-1-4.
A thesis published by Deirdre Feely in November 2003 quantified the characteristics of the breed in statistical form. Entitled
' Characteristics of the Connemara Pony population in Ireland', it drew on information about ponies passed for registration in the studbook, and for the first time introduced the concept of an 'in-breeding co-efficient', in order to measure objectively the degree of in-breeding in the population. It contains much food for thought for the responsible breeder, and a timely warning to those who guard the bloodlines for the future.
Report available at : www.connemarapony.org/feely_report.html
'An Capaillín', a periodical published by the CPBS. Recent editions are in colour, and comprise of articles contributed from many sources, both in Ireland and from societies throughout the world. It is edited by Ruth Rodgers, who writes for The Irish Field, and Ann Reade.
The Connemara Chronicle is the periodical of the British Connemara Pony Society. Founded originally as the English Connemara Pony Society in 1947, limited back numbers of the 'Chronicle' are available from the BCPS.
'Seahorses - Connemara and it's ponies.' ( 2002 ) ISBN 0-9543992 -0-X.
This illustrated collection of fact, fiction and poetry about the Connemara has been compiled by Stephanie Brooks and Karen Mannion. It holds such gems as photographs of the few sets of registered twins born to the breed.
The O'Malley Letters, reproduced in recent times, are available via www.connemara-pony.net .The originals were written by Michael O'Malley, a founder member of the CPBS, during the early days.
The CPBS Studbooks are available, individually or as a set, directly from the CPBS. Contact the office by telephone ( 00 353 95 21863 ), e-mail enquiries@cpbs.ie , or by post at 'Connemara Pony Breeders Society, The Showgrounds, Clifden. Co.Galway. Ireland.