A UNIQUE partnership between two of Ireland’s leading tourist attractions will see the nation’s Connemara pony go on public display.
Kylemore Abbey in Connemara has loaned two of its ponies to the National Stud in Kildare this month to help promote the native breed to visitors who may have yet to encounter them.
The move follows the success of last year’s partnership between the two organisations.
For 2023 Kylemore Abbey have placed Ava, a sixteen-year-old Connemara mare, and her filly foal Peaceful Blaithín in the Irish National Stud for the coming months.
All foals born on the Kylemore Estate carry Peaceful as a prefix to their name, Kylemore Abbey confirms.
Ava and Blaithín will now be on public display as they graze in paddocks alongside living Irish horseracing legends such as Hurricane Fly and Faugheen.
Connemara mare Ava and her filly foal Peaceful Blaithín arrive at the Irish National StudCathal Beale, CEO of The Irish National Stud, said of the initiative: “It was fantastic to have a Connemara mare and foal here at the stud last year to showcase to our visitors and to promote another national breed, they were a great attraction.
“We are delighted to have Connemara mare Ava and her foal Peaceful Blaithín here this summer and are very grateful to Kylemore Abbey for loaning them to us.”
Meanwhile visitors to Kylemore Abbey can still meet Connemara ponies at the Galway location’s Pony Paddock - where a talk by local pony expert Ciara Nee takes place at 3.30pm each day.
Reflecting on the partnership, Kylemore Abbey’s CEO, Conor Coyne said: “In this, the centenary year for the Connemara Pony Breeders Society, it is wonderful to once again be given the opportunity to promote the breed at another leading visitor attraction, the Irish National Stud.
“Connemara Ponies have only been on the Kylemore Estate for the past five years, but they have become a key feature of a visit to Kylemore Abbey and we are delighted we can share them with the visitors who come to Kylemore and once again, with the visitors to the National Stud.”
