Meet the Breeders: Australia

In this episode we meet with 3 of Australia's Connemara pony breeders who are passionate about the pony and the promotion of the breed through the Connemara Pony Breeders Society Australia.

1. Catherine Hollingsworth 

Catherine is the CPBSA Registrar and breeds under the Badine prefix. Catherine has been associated with Connemara ponies in Australia for 20 years. Originally involved with the Wychwood Stud for 13 years, she has more recently been operating under the Badine prefix and breeding one or two ponies. While at Wychwood Catherine produced both pure bred and part bred ponies and competed predominantly ‘in hand’ and in endurance.

Notable ponies included a two time 160km championship part bred who placed 2nd and then 3rd Middleweight, while a

full brother won the Sydney 3DE, 4 year old young event horse championship and later qualified as an 80km endurance

horse, and a pure bred mare who was an in hand supreme champion and reserve champion preliminary dressage pony.

Catherine is a Society inspector and travelled to Ireland in 2009, attending the Clifden Show and visiting a number of breeders.

2. George Hillis-Howe 

George and her Family are long term breeders of Welsh Ponies and Cobs under Nawarrah Park prefix for over 50 years – the Howe Family have imported several Welsh Cob stallions from UK. George is now also breeding Connemara ponies under the Nawarrah Park Prefix. George purchased her first Connemara pony mare in 2014 and enjoyed her so much she purchased a colt foal and future sire in 2018 when the stud officially became recognised as a Welsh Pony, Cob and Connemara Pony Breeder. Since this time George has imported 2 stallions, Castle Ceasar from the UK & Skaergarden Discovery Night from Denmark. George also has a foal on the ground this season by AI to Skellorn Harrison UK.

George is well known in the showing world, competing in both breed classes and open show hunters as a competitor and accredited judge and it is great asset for the Connemara Pony here in Australia to have a new convert to the breed which will help increase their popularity here in Australia. She is also a committee member and advocate for the Mountain& Moorland Pony Promotional Group raising awareness and funding classes for M&M ponies at major shows in Australia. 

3. Dianne Collins 

CPBSA Committee member and breeds Connemara ponies under the “Capall Park” prefix – Owned & ridden since she was 3. Her father was born in Johnstown Co. Kilkenny and emigrated to Oz aged 36. He grew up with horses, more so working ID horses, on their family farm. He loved Connemara ponies and is foremost responsible for her addiction to them. At 7yrs of age she dreamed of bringing a Connemara Pony back from Ireland. She was lucky enough to accompany him back to Ireland in 1978 and went to Dublin Horse show when they used to have lots of in hand classes and the annual Clifden Pony Show. She went back to Ireland in 2008 with her daughter and decided on a 10 yr plan to bring her long awaited pony back from Ireland. She visited Ireland on several occasions for the new few years and went seriously looking in 2018. Dianne was originally intending to bring back a colt but decided on a mare after visiting a lot of breeders and the common denominator was a great mare line. Through her friend Karen Holloway she was introduced to Padraic Hynes and the Canal ponies. She had always loved the much decorated mare Village Laura and was introduced to her granddaughter, Canal Lucy who was by Gl Knight out of Canal Linnett. Canal Lucy was Junior Champ at the Midlands Show 2017 and placed in her 3 yr old class at Clifden. She was not for sale that year. Dianne came back again in 2019 and explored the possibly of purchasing Canal Lucy,

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