Silver Grey IRE 143

Winnie, founder of one of the first mare families, was an early show winner and won the championship for younger mares at the Oughterard show in 1930. Second in the same class was another mare who also in time was to found a major mare family, Silver Grey. Silver Grey was owned by Mark Geoghegan, supporter of the Connemara breed for maybe more years than any one. Mark was one onfe the legendary Cannon Ball's jockeys, stallion custodian for many years and breeder of many good ponies.

Only one mare was registred out of Silver Grey, but she was noone less than Irene. Irene was born in 1938 and was a daughter of Innishgoill Laddie. As a twelve-year-old she won her class at the Oughterard show, but it is as a brood mare that she has made history. Irene have five registred offspring, four daughters and a son. The son, the stallion Bridge Boy, was given his name after being born under a bridge and he was a great show winner of the sixties. On four occasions, 63, 65, 67 and 69 did he win his class at Clifden show (the winner was not allowed to participate the following year) and even two people had some difficulties in keeping him under control. At the age of 17 Bridge Boy was exported to Denmark, where some of his best daughters already had proceeded him, but he only left a few foals there.

Irene's first daughter, Busy Irene, had no registred offspring. Daughter number two, Silver Irene was one of only a handful of mares which were registred by the thouroughbred Little Heaven. Silver Irene was exported to the USA as a brood mare and the line continues there. Irene's third daughter was called Irene II. She was by the relatively little used Farravane Boy who was by the Irish Draught stallion May Boy, and her largest contribution to the breed was her son Paddy's Heaven.

Irene's fourth and last daughter was Irene Grey, a full sister to Irene II, and she was the one who kept the line going in Connemara. Irene Grey was registred in the ownership of John Brennan and she gave him a string of foals most of whom carried the Fort prefix. Her first daughter, Noble Irene, was registred without it though. She was exported to Germany at a young age without leaving any offspring in Connemara. Irene Grey's first son was the well known Thunderbolt. He led a varied life working as a teaser for many years and not siring many connemaras, but several good ones among them. His large triumph was in 1981 when he won his class at Clifden show. Three years later he was already booked with the slaughter house when he was bought by a Brittish syndicate and he rewarded his new home country with several fine daughters and sons.

In 1964 Irene Grey gave birth to a full sister to Thunderbolt, and it was Fainleog who came to be the family's first representative in Sweden. She was one of the mares which were chosen and imported by the countess of Oxenstierna, one of the earliest Connemara enthusiasts in Sweden. The cavalry captain Stig Hultén writes in the magazine Hästen (the Horse) in 1967 "Too good to be true. Now the countess [of Oxenstierna] has sold her best horse." And he goes on to describe how he came to buy Fainleog. "Suddenly a palomino mare broke away from the others and gave a private display of her floating gaits with the silver mane and the curly tail blowing in the autumn sunshine. We just fell for her charm..." The incomprehensible Fainleog was quickly "translated" to Finlugg (lit. Pretty Fringe) and the captain goes on: "...in my now rather long life as a rider I have never met such a cooperative youngster as the Connemara pony Finlugg." Unfortunately Finlugg never left any daughters in the Swedish stud book but by inspiring the captain to write this praize in one of the country's major horse magazines she surely made a contribution to Connemara breeding in her own way. (Quotes freely translated)

Back in Ireland the next of Irene Grey's daughters saw the light of day, Fort Irene. She may be most famous for her son Rory Ruadh. Rory Ruadh was exported to Denmark where he performed stallion duties at the Øxenholm stud. He left many good ponies both on Ireland and in Denmark. Fort Irene's full sister Fort Holly was second at Clifden show in 1970 in a class with 87(!) participants. She was later exported too to Denmark where she was awarded a class I premium and bred for the Øxenholm stud. The next daughter of Irene Grey was called Fort Ash. She spent her first years on Lambay Island and was later sold to the Sydserff stud in Scotland. Fort Ash's offspring have above all proven themselves ridden. Lambay Master Ash won the "Ridden Connemara Championship" in Ireland 1984 and Sydserff Ember and Sydserff Fingal have both qualified for the "Ridden Mountain and Moorland Championship" at Olympia on several occasions. The finest hour was for Fingal in 1993 when he was the runner up.

Fort Finneen by Finney Master was Irene Grey's secon stallion son. He left only a few foals most of whom ended up in Denmark. Irene Grey's sixth daughter was by Brogeen. She was given the name Fort Sunflower and exported to Sweden. Among Fort Sunflower's offspring two performance ponies are noted, O'Boy (by Tiger Boy) who have competed in show jumping and Sunflower whose major discipline was eventing. Sunflower's sire was Rory Ruadh, and she carried Irene Grey's blood on both her sire's and her dam's side. Sunflower was during many years part of the Swedish eventing elite, and in 1986 she was ranked the fourth best eventing pony in the country by the magazine Ridsport (Ridden sports). The year after she was number one! Among her merits are European Championship team silver and an individual 6th. On top of her eventing successes Sunflower has also done her part as a brood mare. The son Sunshine Boy is an approved stallion and still breeding in Sweden and the daughter Golden Sunflower is the dam of the 2000 breed show youngstock champion, Golden Sunset. Fort Sunflower have apart from Sunflower another daughter in the Swedish stud book, Chiquita.

After Fort Sunflower Irene Grey had another two foals in Connemara. The stallion Fort Lambay and the mare Fort Shone, but neither of them made a major contribution as breeders. There is also a gelding out of Irene grey in the Irish stud book, Fort Fred, but the last reference to Silver Greys mare family I find, not in the Irish, but in the Danish stud book. There under the stallion Dominick I find the mare Honor's Choice with the pedigree by Innishgoill Laddie out of Silver Grey. In the Irish stud book Honor's Choice is one of many mares wothout a pedigree, but mark Geoghegan, owner of Silver Grey, is also listed as owner of Honor's Choice. If Honor's Choice really is a daughter of Silver Grey that would give us another branch of this mare family through Honor's Choice's English born daughter Shamrock VII, the mother of Dominick. Wer can only speculat how many other daughters of the early foundation mares found their way into the stud books without a pedigree.



We own Cashmere out of Tre Awain Western Caelie. We also own Tre Awain Western Caelie's second daughter Grey Haven's Caelie Aubusson (Caelie as we call her). Cashmere's sire is Moxley Duncan and Caelie Aubusson's sire is Concord River Roaringwater Bay. Cashmere is 8 years old and is my daughter's riding pony and they do eventing. Caelie Aubusson is 7 years old and is green broke and has had 2 foals. Her first is Grey Haven's Megan and she is still at Grey Haven farm in Ohio. Caelie Aubusson's second foal was born here on our farm and is named Touch of Gray's Molly Brown. She is our first foal - eight months old and beautiful.

Pat Fiorini, Touch of Gray Farm, Massachusetts, USA.


Back to the mare page

Silver Grey IRE 143
Honor's Choice IRE 500 (UK)
Marble of Leam IRE 1257 (UK)
Shamrock VII GBR 10694 (UK)
Dominick GBR 4430, CH 3 (UK, Den)
Snowdrop GBR 10694 (UK)
Imelda (UK)
Snow Girl (UK)
Snowmaiden (UK)
Irene IRE 624
Busy Irene IRE 1456
Silver Irene IRE 1678, M 62 (USA)
Le Wa's Colleen M 221 (USA)
Bit O'Heaven's Erin Mor G 107 (USA)
Oak Hills Tess M 723 (USA)
Oak Hills Ambrose G 156 (USA)
Oak Hills Intrepid G 197 (USA)
Oak Hills Flagstone G 283 (USA)
Oak Hills Foxglove M 927 (USA)
Foxglove Cadzie HB M 162 (USA)
Foxglove Killian Red S 469 (USA)
Foxglove Colleen's Echo M 967 (USA)
Foxglove Valentine M 1010 (USA)
Tranquillity's Jump for Joy M 1148 (USA)
Daaghn's Wild Irish Dreams M 1422 (USA)
Foxglove Malarkey S 409 (USA)
Colleen's Belle M 1091 (USA)
Le Wa's Kilkenny S 111 (USA)
Gaelin's Top O the Morning S 225 (USA)
Belle of Shannon M 569 (USA)
Bit O'Heaven's Irish Dancer M 647 (USA)
Bit O'Heaven's Dancer's Darlin M 968 (USA)
Bit O'Heaven's Patrick Henry G 352 (USA)
Bit O'Heaven's Country Jig G 394 (USA)
Tre Awain Western Caelie M 1168 (USA)
Cashmere (USA)
Grey Haven's Caelie Aubusson (USA)
Grey Haven's Megan (USA)
Touch of Gray's Molly Brown (USA)
Tre Awain Balefire M 1378 (USA)
Hillside Laura M 1480 (USA)
Hillside Sarah (USA)
Hillside Elizabeth (USA)
Cedar's Irish Lass (USA)
Cedar's Bonny Blue (USA)
Ridgetop Minstrel (USA)
Ridgetop Clifden Bay (USA)
Irene Grey IRE 1899
Noble Irene IRE 2483 (Ger)
Thunderbolt IRE 178, S 32 (UK)
Fainleog IRE 2815, RC 37 (Swe)
Fiona (Swe)
Fanny II (Swe)
Flanagan (Swe)
Finette II (Swe)
Fort Fred IRE G 581
Fort Irene IRE 4105
Rory Ruadh IRE 517, CH 28, NC 011 (Den, Nor)
Fort Hilda IRE 5532
Fort Holly IRE 4266, C 223 (Den)
Øxenholm Honey C 355 (Den)
Sam O'Neill (Den)
Jason 8910931 (Den)
Fort Ash IRE 4640, GBR 17635 (UK)
Lambay Fairy Fort IRE 6493
Lambay Dark Sherry IRE 6783
Drumbaun Premier IRE G 1065
Lambay Mountain Ash IRE 6862
Spinway Village Spruce Ge 52 (UK)
Sydserff Doonbridge Ge 228 (UK)
Sydserff Fort Ge 226 (UK)
Sydserff Fingal Ge 339 (UK)
Sydserff Cinders M 592 (UK)
Sydserff Flint (UK)
Sydserff Ember M 710 (UK)
Sydserff Bright Spark Ge 545 (UK)
Sydserff Miss Ash M 979 (UK)
Sydserff Clinker (UK)
Fort Fineen IRE 522
Fort Sunflower IRE 5863, RC 281 (Swe)
Sunflower RC 392 (Swe)
Sunshine Boy RC 52 (Swe)
Golden Sunflower RC 934 (Swe)
Sunrise II (Swe)
Golden Sunset (Swe)
Chiquita RC 397 (Swe)
Chiko (Swe)
O'Boy (Swe)
Fort Lambay IRE 586
Fort Shona IRE 6346
Irene II IRE 1710
Paddy's Heaven IRE 137
Bridge Boy IRE 124, CH 21 (Den)


© Jenny Hagenblad, 2001