Brannigan's silver lining

They say a picture paints a thousand words ... but there’s a lot more to this picture of my daughter Hilary, proudly putting her 148cm pony Rulahisu Bingo through his paces at Dublin than meets the eye.

The reality was, having ignored well-intentioned advice that the pony was too green and my rider was too young, I entered Bingo and Hilary in the 153cms show hunter pony class. The truth of the matter was, that having bred and produced the pony, I was dying to get him to the ‘holy grail’ that is Ballsbridge and showing was the only class four-year-old Bingo was eligible for.

I know nothing about showing – and it seems even less about how to read the RDS schedule, so Hilary and I turned up late for the class. You can just imagine our reaction!

After weeks of planning, preparing and preening of both my young pony and my enthusiastic rider, we’d made the most fundamental of errors.

Kindness of strangers

However, thanks to the kindness and generosity of complete strangers, what seemed to be an absolute disaster quickly turned into a very special moment.

I found my way to the pocket, and pleaded my case with the steward – my request was simple. Could they please allow Hilary to trot the pony around the arena before the next class, in order for her to experience what it is to ride in Dublin?

Not only was my request granted, as the classes were running ahead of time, but the judges [Clare Dew and Jamie Mead] allowed Hilary to essentially have her own private showing session. They spoke to her about her pony and his breeding. They were so encouraging and allowed her to put Bingo through his paces and even rewarded her efforts with a special rosette. What an experience for a 10-year-old child. I will be forever grateful.

Breeding

Rulahisu Bingo is home-bred and produced. As I mentioned earlier, I know very little about showing. Showjumping ponies, or rather producing young potential show jumping ponies, is what my Dad, Jim Ryan, and I have been doing for many years.

Bingo is out of an Appaloosa pony mare we had for many years and is by the Connemara sire Josie Jump, a previous RDS champion.

He’s unique, not only for his appearance, but also his attitude. He’s good looking and he knows it! He’s probably the most photographed pony in Ireland ... he simply makes people smile.

TV star

A funny incident happened last year, we brought him to the fair in Ballinasloe where he was a finalist in the Francis Derwin pony lunging competition. That evening we were delighted to see a shot of Dad holding Bingo on RTÉ’s nine o’clock news in their coverage of the fair.

A few days later, while I was hacking him on the road, a complete stranger stopped her car to admire him. Her parting words were along the lines of: “He’s gorgeous but I have to tell you that he’s not unique. There’s another pony just like him over in Ballinasloe, I saw him on the news the other night!”

While the Dublin judges were hugely complimentary of his conformation and step, his talent is over fences. He’s competed with Oliver Penfold for the past few months and has finished the year with several successful ventures up to 1m.

Our sights are set on bringing him to Millstreet next year as a five-year-old to try his hand in the Pony Discovery. Oliver’s sister, Harriet will take over the ride of him until Hilary gets more experience.

Dad and I are very passionate about the breeding and production of young ponies and it’s a family operation, ably assisted by my eldest daughter, Ruth. However, it’s a lonely road. There are relatively few people actively involved in such pursuits. The market simply isn’t there for three and four-year-old 148cm ponies.

Making a market

The reality of the pony showjumping scene is that you’d have no problem finding a buyer for a good five-year-old 148cm pony towards the end of the showjumping year, as customers have their sights set on the RDS six/seven-year-old qualifiers but it seems few are prepared to put in the time to “make” these ponies.

The Duggan family in Millstreet have been huge supporters of the young pony scene for many years, with their highly-regarded and successful Young Irelander and Discovery pony classes.

If the RDS could replicate for 148cm ponies what they do for four and five-year-old horses, the results could be breathtaking for the market. It would instantly open up a market for these younger animals and what a showcase it would be for foreign buyers. It would also make the purchase of a potential “Dublin pony” so much more affordable to many more families.

As we all know, the prices quoted for 148cm ponies in the 130cm class are beyond belief and out of the reach for so many.

Younger animals would be so much more accessible, both from a financial and also technical standpoint.

Which brings me to the horsemanship side of things ... Irish riders are known and respected on the global stage, not only for their skills and work ethic, but for their fundamental horsemanship.

And why is that? Is it because they were put on expensive schoolmaster ponies and taught the technical side of strides and distances? Or was it largely because in the 1980s and 1990s, the vast majority of these riders had to learn how to make a silk purse out of a sows ear and to squeeze every last jump out of the most affordable ponies their parents could buy?

In “making” their own young ponies they learned how to feel and read a young animal. The skills required to make a four-year-old are so fundamental to good horsemanship. It’s all about the feel.

Any rider who can produce a young animal must coax, cajole, discipline, encourage and reward that animal. Anyone who can do that is a rider indeed. There is nothing more rewarding than getting that feel from a young pony as he or she learns to jump a fence for the first time and second and third!

There’s a world of opportunity there for opening the four and five-year-old pony market. Our promising young riders deserve it. So do our ponies.

Claire Brannigan was in conversation with Susan Finnerty.