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| About Us A Trip Down Memory Lane The Donegreagh Connemara herd began in 1987, unaware that with the arrival that autumn of a three year old dappled grey filly, Belmore Bluebell, generations of ponies would follow. A daughter of Skryne Bright Cloud and Killough Bluebell, she was bred by Cecil Crooks, about five miles from my townland. 
Cecil Crooks with Carla ( Carol Bluebell, by Ballinaboy Ben ex Shragh Bluebell ) in 1987. I had been looking for a mare for a short while, having somehow decided I would like a Connemara, perhaps because my very first pony was thought to be at least part Connie. After speaking to Sam Morrison, whose stud was near us, in Portadown, I contacted a lady who he knew to have a good mare for sale, but as luck would have it, I had just missed her ! However while speaking to the lady, Mrs.Pat McCance, we agreed that I should visit anyway, and meet her ponies. I soon made my way to the Blackskull, between Lurgan and Banbridge, though it took me 35 minutes to lose my way in the darkening evening, and only 15 to find the road home again ! It was an enriching experience, for in talking to each other, and my learning so much from her, Mrs. McCance and I discovered a great friendship! The mare she had just sold was a beautiful daughter of The Fugitive, Song of Morning, bred by the late Clare Studdert. She also had two more 'Song' ponies, Song of Easter ( The Fugitive X Easter Song ) and Song of Pixie ( Oxenholm O'Connell X Song of Regime ) and their offspring. Not long after, I heard from Sam Morrison that there was another pony not far from me who was for sale, and I drove the 6 miles to Aghalee, and to a field on the Brankinstown Road to look at a 3 y-o grey filly. There were 3 ponies in the field - in addition to the filly was a plainer headed one, which, I was told, belonged to Sammy Morrison. One appeared to be called Heidi, and the other, Bluebell. This turned out to be a confusion, for they were both registered as 'Bluebell', ( the plainer mare was 'Holiday Bluebell' ) but the one I brought home had been known as Heidi - but since I only learned the right way of it after 'my' Bluebell had been home for a while, 'Bluebell' she remained ! 
Bluebell in 1987. She had no trouble finding her place alongside my other lot, being fairly self assured! Needing her to ride, she went "off to school", as I explained to a friend's young child. She spent six weeks with the late Cecil Bunting ( on Bownes Lane, Lurgan ), whose own family farm neighboured ours. I had first learned to milk cows with Cecil's brother, Tom, and his gentle wife, Ella, back in 1972. Bluebell was ridden out on the wide grass verge of the busy Banbridge Road by a young Jeffrey Lyons, and was good in traffic. Cecil Bunting and Jeffrey Lyons were driving men, a generation apart in age, but brothers in their enthusiasm for the driving pony, and both many times champion in the show ring. 
Bluebell with her colt, Barty, foaled in 1990. On October 21st 2009 We were delighted this evening to have a visit from Cecil Crooks, kindly driven to the farm by his neighbour, Monica. Cecil remembers horses being at his place at Soldierstown, Aghalee, since he was knee high - sometimes forty or more, especially in his late father's time. He lost his much loved old mare, Carla ( Carol Bluebell M 7447 ), only last spring, in her thirtieth year. From her he bred the last foal ever sired by Holiday Archfield, and so Cecil began his tale. He recalled how the people at Clifden and Maam Cross were always glad to see Sammy Morrison and himself, coming to buy ponies. They were not so pleased if they were coming to sell or to show, though! The pair were at such a sale one year ( 1975 ), where Cecil remarked that there stood a colt he'd buy. What would you buy that for ?, Sam wanted to know - for the yearling was light of bone - but something about him appealed to him just the same. When they encountered the man who owned the colt, he began anxiously telling Cecil that he hardly knew how he was going to manage to get him to the ring, 'for he was a'feared of him', said Cecil. So he asked to have the rope from the owner, and looped it through the colt's mouth, and behind his jaw, and handed him back. The adjustment worked, and the vendor made it safely to the ring. The auctioneer, Jimmy Murphy, opened the colt at fifty pounds, and Cecil put on a few bids, until he reached 90 pounds. Just as he turned to leave the ringside, someone bid another fiver, so the auctioneer asked Cecil if he 'would round it up', which he did, and the colt was promptly knocked down to him without a call for further bids. The two friends brought the colt home as far as Portadown, where somehow he was claimed by Sam, and so he remained there for most of his 21 years. Cecil says good humouredly that he doesn't think he ever got the 100 pounds from Sam, but described how he and Sam were like brothers, so it never mattered ! When presented for inspection in the Mahon Road yard, his lack of substance led to some of the six inspectors wishing to turn him down, but a young Mrs.Doyle was on the panel, and she saw potential in the young stallion, and persuaded the others to let him through. Registered as Holiday Archfield, with stud book number S 686, 'Archie' became a sucessful sire for the Brookfield Farm stud, He got great jumping ponies, and was often driven - Cecil himself driving him at cross country events. Though said to be bred from Ashfield Bobby Sparrow ( the famous Carna Bobby son ), Archie was born before the days of bloodtyping, and Cecil intimates that he always had his doubts - the place where the pony was bred ran about half a dozen stallions, including an Arab, and both his high knee action and his dished profile led him to believe there was perhaps more Eastern than western blood in him! He thought a great deal of the stallion though, and said he was always aware if there was another stallion within a half mile - and closing the top door of his stable was not enough to keep him quiet! Nor would he tolerate standing tied up, being too lively. It was misfortune that led to the end of Holiday Archfield, as Cecil sadly recalled. After his having covered Carol Bluebell, Cecil had led the stallion into one of the stables to the left side of Sam's barn, where there were no top doors. Instead of settling down, he jumped up, knocking his knee on the angle iron attached to the top edge of the door and laming himself. The following morning the horse could not put his foot to the floor, and Sam called his vet, Sam Nelson. It turned out that Archie had fractured his knee, and as a consequence was put to sleep. Cecil only keeps three ponies nowadays - the 1998 mare, Hollydene, ( by Archie ), who is a full sister to Killough Bluebell, and her two daughters by C.V.Cashel. The CPBS database presently records him as the breeder of 20 ponies, with the two fillies at home still to be added to the register. They are Soldierstown Lady and Killough Queen. Killough is the townland where the farm lies. 
Monica with Hollydene, March 2011. Skryne Bright Cloud, sire of my founding mare, was purchased from the Society by Sam Morrison, for the sum of 300 pounds, joining the Holiday herd in time for the 1982 season. Cecil reported that the CPBS were 'fed-up' with the horse, but he counted him the 'best horse ever to stand up here'. Cecil said he had great bone, though a head that was too big. A perusal of Elizabath Petch's book, 'Connemara Pony Breeder's Society, 1923 - 1998', confirms Cecil's description. The photo on page 190 shows the 'small, strong, horse' mentioned in the narrative. However, the fact that his daughters came 1st in the yearling class and took the top two places in the 2 y-o filly class in 1984 would indicate that he did good work during the five years he stood as a society stallion. During that time he spent two seasons at Camus with stallion keeper Paddy Folan, before moving the Rosmuc and the charge of Josie Conroy. Unfortunately the Clifden Show report in Lib Petch's book for 1985 does not give results for the yearling class, but this was the year Cecil took his Skryne Bright Cloud filly, Belmore Bluebell, to victory at the Society show. She was out of his homebred Killough Bluebell mare (by Holiday Archfield) , and when I bought Bluebell in 1987 Cecil gave me the Clifden catalogue and the red rosette she won there as a yearling in 1985. Belmore Bluebell was the dam of our homebred foundation stallion Donegreagh Applejack who stood at our stud from 1994 until 2008. It is with great sadness we have to report the loss of our beautiful stallion. He became ill at the end of May in 2008 and, despite the attention of our vets, had to be put to sleep on June 26th 2008. He was still bright and looking for 'his girls' even in the last few days, despite having become weaker. Just at a time when the smaller pony was beginning once again to be appreciated, our loss is a loss also to the breed. He is very much missed. His great-grand dam, Carla (Carol Bluebell), much loved by the Crooks family of Aghalee, only died in 2007. Donegreagh Applejack 1994 - 2008 | |
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