“Performance” Connemaras

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retired_girl

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What is your take on the meaning of performance connemaras? My take is that they are Connie’s that are more bred for competition rather than say a family pony. Or a family pony that can step up to compete with a competent rider?
Interested on your take those who know Connie’s well.
 
They are often referred to as "blood" connemaras.

I had one, he was hotter than hot, rode like a small sports horse. Sharp. Very different to my other connemara who rode like a pony.
 
I have a connie and a connieX TB at the moment. I have also produced other connies. They really do seem to come in 2 types -the sharp, very althetic type and the steady, safe type.

My 21 year old connie is exceptionally well bred, his mother was supreme champion at Clifden show and he has many other Clifden champions in his breeding, however he is not performance bred. He was bred for the show ring and is of traditional type. He has also been an extremely successful competition horse (eventing). He used to be sharp as a tact but he is as genuine as thery come.

The ones that are advertised as performance connies usually have successful SJ or eventing ponies in their pedigrees. Often they are a bit finer and there is less panic if they go slightly over height. So from my experience performance bred generally means they SJ or eventers in the pedigrees, good examples would be the use of stallions like Silver Shadow or Bobby Sparrow blue.

I have found that performance or traditional bred does not necessarily indicate whether they will be the sharp or the steady type - that is often just luck. It also doesn't necessarily tell you if they will be successful in athletic competition rather than showing.

prinny.jpg

This is my 21 year old technically not perfotrmance bred, but cracing performance horse!


baby dun2.jpg

This is a performance bred connie I produced who turned out to be the steadiest most sensible pony ever. He now belongs to a friend.
 
Performance would be the more sporty type whilst traditional is chunkier and suitable for showing in flat show Connemara classes.
 
First Frost said:
I have a connie and a connieX TB at the moment. I have also produced other connies. They really do seem to come in 2 types -the sharp, very althetic type and the steady, safe type.

My 21 year old connie is exceptionally well bred, his mother was supreme champion at Clifden show and he has many other Clifden champions in his breeding, however he is not performance bred. He was bred for the show ring and is of traditional type. He has also been an extremely successful competition horse (eventing). He used to be sharp as a tact but he is as genuine as thery come.

The ones that are advertised as performance connies usually have successful SJ or eventing ponies in their pedigrees. Often they are a bit finer and there is less panic if they go slightly over height. So from my experience performance bred generally means they SJ or eventers in the pedigrees, good examples would be the use of stallions like Silver Shadow or Bobby Sparrow blue.

I have found that performance or traditional bred does not necessarily indicate whether they will be the sharp or the steady type - that is often just luck. It also doesn't necessarily tell you if they will be successful in athletic competition rather than showing.

View attachment 156052

This is my 21 year old technically not perfotrmance bred, but cracing performance horse!


View attachment 156053

This is a performance bred connie I produced who turned out to be the steadiest most sensible pony ever. He now belongs to a friend.
Click to expand...
I would agree with all of this, but would add because they have pony intelligence you not only have to be aware they can be sharp but also clever.
 
Any pony, with the correct education can be a ‘performance’ pony as long as its conformation and temperament are ok. In connies the use of ‘ performance’ is relatively new - it wasn’t banded about 20 or 30 years ago when prices weren’t so high. The term ‘performance’ seems to be used these days to refer to sharper types, some of them with particularly well used bloodlines but more often ponies sold as broken to ride when they may only have been sat in a couple of times. I would be wary of buying pony advertised as being of a ‘performance type’ but would happily consider an unbroken pony once l’d checked the blood lines. Sometimes line breeding can lead to a sharper type of pony. Don’t forget the connie originally was a family pony bred to work hard 6 or 7 days a week as well as producing a foal each year.
 
Michen said:
They are often referred to as "blood" connemaras.

I had one, he was hotter than hot, rode like a small sports horse. Sharp. Very different to my other connemara who rode like a pony.
Click to expand...
My bay Connie is just like this. At 26 he is still in a decent level of fast work and never had a lame day in his life. But he runs on his nerves and needs careful management when ridden. He would die under you tying to please. One man/woman horse. I bought him from a dealer 22 years ago and she referred to him as 'special needs', not performance. He hated being test ridden and was too hot for children. He has never been for the faint hearted and in the early days, I questioned my sanity. I'm pretty sure a lot of his head space was caused in Ireland. He is my pony of a lifetime.
 
It's interesting, native ponies are supposed to be all Rounders, so to try and pigeonhole them as youngsters seems odd.
A friend of mine had a connemara for her daughter, he was very "special" not an easy ride, stressy and didn't like being out in his small paddock for more than a couple of hours, however he competed at Hoys, in workers, and flat classes county standard.
Do you have to exchange being sensible for performance nowadays.?
 
The horse love of my life was an oversize Connie mare. Maisie. She had something wrong with her and was downgraded to be only for hacking but she read my mind.
She cantered fast and with her head down low. And there were times when I couldnt stop her. But she taught me to canter and would back up and turn and do anything I asked, usually things which I had seen demonstrated at a Mark Rashid Clinic.
Every time I get ready to buy a Connie, I am offered a good safe IS share. But if I come to buying, that will be a Connie and I will ask for guidance here.
 
I have 2 "sports" Connies. They're sweet natures and anyone could handle them on the ground, but they need someone competent to "work" them, be it on the ground or under saddle.

They're both lean and think fast is the answer to all problems.
 
I have a "sports" version Connie and he's not at all sharp or sporty, he just looks more sporty than the traditional showing type. He only ever uses as little energy as possible to get the job done :D
 
retired_girl said:
What is your take on the meaning of performance connemaras? My take is that they are Connie’s that are more bred for competition rather than say a family pony. Or a family pony that can step up to compete with a competent rider?
Interested on your take those who know Connie’s well.
Click to expand...

Performance should be the lines from which they are bred ie established competitively out eventing/showjumping/dressage in the lineage, having spent a lot of time on research into breeding lines and avoiding where possible line breeding. Performance should necessarily be hot or sharp this comes from the choice of sire/dam lines, but again this research of the performance lines.

Performance ponies tend to be outside of breed standard with most over height. By virtue of this, they are commonly lighter than the traditional showing type and own a performance Connie currently who is the perfect balance of pony brain, willingness and sanity with scope to jump, kind and the most genuine horse there is.
 
The performance ones tend to have less bone, are leggier and naturally leaner with a bigger stride, think small horse, and the traditional ones will generally have a smaller stride with a short cannon, feather, more bone and ride like a pony. That’s not to say a traditional will not be able to perform at a high level, they just likely come from showing lines where conforming to the ultimate breed standard were prioritised over speed and scope. An old friend has a bigger, sportier connie from true high level competition lines but my little mare from successful in hand/ridden shoe lines is much sharper and high energy, and would also be a better weight carrier.

A comparison would be flat v NH racehorses. Both the exact same breed but often look and move very differently as very different things are required from them to succeed in their given careers.
 
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