Lishmar Connemara Ponies

27/02/2026

IN-HAND JUDGES PANEL | 2026 🗳️

Following tonight’s live-streamed draw, the independent Judges Selection Committee of ‘The Connemara Pony Show-Clifden’ wishes to announce the following list of judges, for the In-Hand classes on Wednesday 19th August:

IN-HAND JUDGES PANEL

• 2 International Judges: Madeleine Beckman & Hubert Laurent

• 2 Rest-of-Ireland-based Judges: Liam Walsh & Sean Dunne

• 2 Galway-based Judges: Bartley Conroy & John Joe O’Neill

IN-HAND RESERVE JUDGES PANEL

There is also a reserve list, made up of two judges from each group, should any of the selected judges not be in a position to be present at Clifden come August 19th:

• 2 International Reserve Judges: Gillian McMurray & Stein Langorgen

• 2 Rest-of-Ireland-based Reserve Judges: Andrew O’Donoghue & Ulla Connolly

• 2 Galway-based reserve judges: Malachy Gorham & Michael Naughton

Pairings and class allocation of in-hand judges will be confirmed at a future point.

Judges for Ridden and Performance classes will also be confirmed and announced in the weeks ahead.

We thank those in attendance at tonight’s draw for their assistance and look forward to your continued support in preparation for the 101st Connemara Pony Show this August, in the Clifden Showgrounds.

The full draw along with the process explanation can be watched back in full on our page.

25/02/2026

IN-HAND JUDGES DRAW | 27th February🐴

📍 Live Broadcast
📅 Friday 27th February
⏰ 8:00 PM
📱 Facebook Live

JUDGES SELECTION COMMITTEE

In preparation for the 2026 Show, an independent Judges Selection Committee, external to the Show Committee, has been established.
The members of this committee are:

* Denise Norton
* Liam Cotter
* Nicola Musgrave

The Selection Committee has invited all approved judges on the current CPBS Judges’ List to put their name forward for consideration in the selection of in-hand judges.

Furthermore, the International Committee of Connemara Pony Societies has been approached to furnish the committee with a list of international judges.

In line with long-standing protocols historically applied to judge selection for the Clifden Show, judges who officiated at Clifden in the last three years (i.e. 2023, 2024, and 2025) were deemed ineligible for this selection process.

There has been a very strong response rate and we thank all judges, who have formally confirmed their interest.

DRAW METHODOLOGY

The Selection Committee has confirmed that the selection methodology will be an open draw from three groups i.e:

* International
* Galway-based (over 50% of the judges on the CPBS panel are located in Co. Galway)
* Rest of Country

With the following conditions:

* 2 judges will be selected from the pool of International judges
* 2 judges will be selected from the pool of Galway-based judges
* 2 judges will be selected from the pool of Rest-of-Ireland-based judges

A reserve list, made up of two judges from each group will also be drawn, from which the referee judge will be selected.

The pairing of in-hand judges and the allocation of these pairings to classes will take place at a later point:

* Youngstock in Ring 1 in the morning
* Foals, Geldings, 13.2 mares, Young Handlers and dry Mare classes in Ring 2
* Stallions and Broodmares in Ring 1 in the afternoon

Judges for ridden and performance classes will be confirmed and announced in the weeks ahead.

We thank all judges and patrons for their continued support as preparations continue for the 101st Connemara Pony Show in Clifden. The draw will take place on Friday evening 27th February at 8pm and will be broadcast on social media.

A representative from the Irish Shows Association will be in attendance. Tune in to be part of this year's draw. Play back will be posted on our channels after the live stream has taken place.

20/02/2026

The Connemara Pony Breeders Society has today issued an update for members.

After careful consideration by Council, the constitutional review roadshows previously discussed will not proceed at this time. Members will receive formal notification of the Annual General Meeting in the coming weeks.

The Society remains focused on the effective administration of member services and thanks members for their continued engagement and support.

20/02/2026

Boyne Valley Woody with his owner my good friend Mick Mc Menamon
Woody is a son of Wings of Justice who produced many exceptional performance ponies over the years.
He stands at Newgrange Stud Newgrange Co Meath.

03/02/2026

Today, I received the following statement to publish on my page. Whereas I am happy to oblige, it was my understanding that 3 of the 6 Directors were legally removed at a recently convened EGM (therefore did not need resignation) and it was just 3 directors that did actually resign at this juncture.
To clarify these 6 directors are no longer part of the Societies executive.

07/01/2026

The Tranquility of Rural life at Lishmar.

22/12/2025

Some of the Girls and Boys enjoying their winter holiday by the sea.

23/08/2025

22/08/2025

19/08/2025

06/08/2025