I Love You Melody, the prolific Connemara stallion who has sired performance ponies all over the world, has died aged 26.
“Melody” had been in good health and was still happy in his breeding duties, when he had a suspected heart attack while being led in from his field by his owner Jimmy Canavan of Fernville Pony Stud, in Galway, on 30 July.
Jimmy bought Melody from his breeder Hubert Laurent in France, having seen him shown as an unregistered three-year-old colt in 1999. He was by Idenoir, and the first foal out of Equinoxe Melody, who is now in her 30s.
“When my dad came back to Ireland he spoke about Melody for a few days and my sister Carmel said ‘Go and buy him’,” John Canavan, Jimmy’s son, told H&H.
“Dad rang Hubert and asked to bring him over to Ireland for inspection but Hubert only wanted him to go to Ireland as a registered stallion, so he was classified in France before he came over.”
John said initially his father received some negativity for bringing a Connemara over from France.
“There were loads of people saying we shouldn’t be bringing in a stallion from abroad when we have the best ones in Ireland. But everything being bred at the time was so closely related, and Dad thought Melody would be the perfect outcross for the breed so he became one of the first people to bring in an outcross,” said John.
“A lot of the well-known people in the Connemara world started bringing mares to Melody, and that first year the foals were going out and winning the foal classes. People started realising he was a really good addition to the breed. He came into a yard of established stallions, we had Moy Hazy Cove, RossCastle Fred – but he always stood out. He was a star for us.”
During his prime Melody covered on average 70 to 80 mares per year and he remains a much sought-after performance stallion. He currently has more than 100 offspring registered with Showjumping Ireland, almost 20 of whom are grade A.
“He leaves behind such a legacy all over the world. When people are buying performance ponies they are looking for that Melody line. When my father bought him he always said that the Carna Bobby [Melody’s great-great-grandsire] bloodline was going to be the bloodline that was going to bring that performance back into the breed. It was a lovely thing for Dad to do that,” said John.
“Dad was offered a lot of money through the years for Melody and could have sold him, but there was no way. He’d have sold everything in the house bar Melody, he was so loyal to him.”
John said Melody was an “amazing” pony, who loved children.
“He would always put his head down to the kids so they could pat him. My other sister Marion’s kids used to ride him bareback with just a headcollar, and that was in the middle of the covering season. Carmel used to ride him a lot and would hack him up the road and into the lake just behind our farm. He had a really sensible head and knew his job.
“He really was such a kind animal, we were so lucky with him – and we knew we were, we always knew exactly what we had with Melody.”
John, who owns one of Melody’s sons – four-year-old stallion Clonfert Melody’s Boy – with his partner, showing producer Amy Smith, said Melody’s death was very unexpected.
“He’d never had a sick day or cost us anything in vets’ fees in the 23 years we had him. He was such a healthy pony to the final minute. I believe he waited for Dad to come down, he didn’t want to go without saying goodbye and he died in his arms,” said John.
“We can’t get over the reaction we’ve had following his death, our Facebook post has been shared 375 times and we’ve received messages from people all over the world; America, Australia, the Czech Republic. It’s been really emotional reading through them.
“He was such a special pony and we’ve kept him on the farm so he has his place in his paddock where he lived most of his life. He’s left a gaping hole in our family.”
You might also be interested in:
‘He lived to jump’: farewell to leading working hunter pony placed at HOYS on every appearance
‘He’s just like his dad’: Connemara follows in sire’s footsteps by winning RIHS M&M supreme
Subscribe to Horse & Hound this spring for great savings
Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.
