Tina & Fionn – First Red Rosette & Lots More to Come

Working with horse’s can be a hard slog sometimes, particularly in the Winter months.

Cold, dark wet mornings, little daylight, a sodden arena surface, heavy rugs and mud covered coats can make  for long days and sore bones.

Motivation & little rewards come when those cheeky Connemara ponies provide little insights into their potential to be more than they seem, than those mud spattered coats show.

Red Rosette for Connemara Gelding Ballydoolagh FionnAt Bridge Farm, we rarely get to see a ponies true potential realised, they move on to new homes and new owners so quickly, and we get busy with the new Connemara characters that take their place.

So, there are very few things more enjoyable than receiving an update from a new owner.

Particularly an owner as happy as Tina, who’s been kind enough to share her photos, her feelings & their first red rosette.

For us it’s a little reminder of why we focus on Connemara ponies and why we truly believe they’re the best at what they do and let you have the most fun while you’re doing it.

Hi Belinda, hope you are all well.

Just thought I’d send you these pictures which were taken on Sunday at Fionn’s first show. I took him in the M&M Inhand class and he certainly wowed the crowd with a ‘look at me attitude‘ and performed for the judge.

Well I was choked when the judge placed us first and over the moon with my handsome boy, whom I love so much and shed a little tear or three.

Our first show and our first red rosette. The judge loved him and agreed with me that he is a handsome boy, although Fionn already knows that!

We’re still doing well, he had his teeth and back checked and is due to have the saddle checked in a couple of weeks as he’s grown to just over 15hh. He had front shoes on for the first time and behaved and is due for the full set in two weeks time as the yard is quite tough on their feet.

Fionn is wonderful, love him to bits, best thing I’ve ever done was to buy him.

I’m still schooling him and have popped a couple of small jumps in the school but if they’re too small Fionn just steps over it, so we put them a bit higher and he thinks ‘this is more like it mum’. Bit like when he decided that he shouldn’t be strip grazed because he was hungry, so I found him in the long lush grass after he’d jumped the fence in the field, with a very full belly!

Belinda, so glad I found your website and I was lucky enough to find Fionn.

Take care and I will update you again soon.
Tina and Fionn x

Tina & Ballydoolagh Fionn … Don’t they look wonderful?

And best of all, don’t they look happy! … We wish them all the luck in the world and hope to hear about lots more red rosettes in the future.

Tina & Ballydoolagh Fionn winning their first red rosette

A Red Rosette for Tina & Ballydoolagh Fionn

By Belinda

Owner Operator of Bridge Farm in Ongar Essex; with over 30 years experience of breeding & training horses , dogs and competing in various equestrian disciplines.