“It couldn’t have worked out better.”
The first golden ticket to HOYS 2023’s Price Family Supreme In Hand final was awarded to Louise Noonan and family’s homebred Connemara pony stallion Manor Duke at the Northern Ireland Festival. 12-year-old Duke is by Currachmore Cashel out of Banks Vanilla. He was shown by his producer, Joe Burke, who is a fellow breeder of Connemaras. This will be the pair’s second visit to the HOYS final, as they also qualified in 2021 when they finished third.
Interestingly, the first Ridden Connemara Pony of the Year was awarded to Joe’s own breeding, with 2022 RIHS supreme mountain and moorland Aniar Cashel taking the ticket. He was ridden by his owner, ridden Connemara doyen Sandra Burton. “I had him in the Cuddy Supreme [now the Price Family Supreme] a couple of times and now he’s with Sandra,” explained Joe. The ten-year-old is out of Gowlane Star, and by HOYS finalist and Olympia Best of Breed, Banks Timber, whom Sandra won the RIHS championship with in 2017, and who also belongs to Joe and family.
“It couldn’t have worked out better,” summed up a delighted Joe, especially as Sandra and daughter Emily had flown out to Ireland to watch at the festival.
