The Price is right for Magic

A Connemara stallion books a return ticket to Birmingham, a former hunting pony jumps to glory, and a borrowed belt and safety pins ensure that one competitor makes the evening performance by the skin of his teeth

- REBECCA HAYWOOD

THE National Pony Society (NPS) championship show always witnesses one of the strongest Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) Price Family in-hand supreme championship line-ups, and this year was no exception.

Connemara Cloverhill Magic was one of the finalists to contest the supreme final after he had won his breed title earlier in the day.

Led by Jamie Frost, the Glencarrig Knight-sired stallion has been the bridesmaid this season thus far, achieving reserve places in HOYS qualifiers at both Royal Bath and West and Royal Cornwall.

“This championship win is a real accolade for him,” said owner Cathy Wood, who watched Magic finish fourth in the final at HOYS last year. “He has about 18 mares in foal for 2024 and a super crop on the ground this term. Due to a busy stud season, Magic was contesting only his fifth and final show of the year. He’s been Mr Consistent.”

This year, Magic has won on all five outings, including taking the supreme honour at the Connemara breed show two weeks ago.

The six-year-old won four championships under four different judges here at the summer championships.

“He’s still such a young stallion, of what is a notoriously slow-maturing breed,” Cathy added. “For him to qualify for HOYS at both five and six years of age feels slightly surreal.”

Reserve went to the Welsh section B champion Moelview Moonstruck, who just made it into the evening performance after his owner Richard Jones borrowed a suit from Oliver Burchell.