Connemara stallion wins Olympia M&M title for second time

Bunowen Castle Ri, Jackie Webb’s Connemara stallion, took the ridden mountain and moorland title at Olympia to became only the second pony in the history of the competition to win it twice.

Back in 1984, the Misses Miller’s home-bred Connemara, Rosenaharley Rossleague, won the NPS/Baileys Horse Feeds Supreme Ridden Mountain and Moorland Championship for the second time, having taken it the year before. Bunowen Castle Ri previously claimed the prestigious award in 2005.

“He’s a total star,” said Mathew Lawrence, Ri’s rider on both occasions. “For four years, he’s come here and he’s tried his best. One can’t ask any more. He’s exceptional, and I owe it all to him.”

In addition to his Olympia successes, Ri has won at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) and numerous in-hand and ridden championships in both mixed and breed classes.

Two marks behind Ri, and reserve champion, was Charlene Richardson’s owner-ridden 10-year-old Welsh section D mare, Drumacre Llor Solo (Llanarth Solo-Botvyle April Moon).

In third, a further two points back, was Edwina Waller’s section A, Delami Destiny (Tailors Granite-Idyllic Fountain), ridden by Katy Marriott-Payne. This eight-year-old stallion has been a supreme champion in-hand and is now in his second season under saddle.

This report was first published in Horse & Hound (28 December, ’07)