The author has chosen ten well-known individuals and families who have spent their lives working with horses in County Galway.

Garnet Irwin: Lady jockey in Connemara
Most of her 92 years were spent in North West Connemara, where her father was the local doctor. Horses and ponies were her life’s passion. Cannon Ball, a pony in a thousand.

Michael Tully: Jockey and Galway Hurdle winner 1946
A Galway native, he won the Galway Hurdle race in 1946, but lost the prize when the race committee disqualified him on a technicality. He spent most of his later life working with horses from various bases in England before retiring to Galway.

Chick Gillen: Boxer, city barber and country
Now in his seventies, ponies, boxing, coursing, shooting, fishing, lamping and “flapper racing” were all part of his lifestyle.

Eamon O’Donohue: Army show-jumping team rider
His boyhood interest in ponies was sparked by morning rides in the Galway milkman’s pony delivery cart. He became a member of the Army Equitation Team in the 1950s and competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Bobby Bolger: Connemara pony producer and showman
Following in his father’s footsteps and producing prize-winning Connemaras for the show ring brings him enormous satisfaction. With a professional eye for what constitutes the ideal type of Connemara pony, he is one of only a small group of experts in this field in Ireland.

Shirley North: All-round horse woman
She would not live without the horses which have been interwoven into the fabric of her life since childhood. She is also involved in pony club, showing, eventing, show-jumping and driving.

The O’Briens: show-jumping farm family
An East Galway family where parents Tomas and Francis have been closely involved in seeing their children progress through the pony ranks to achieve star show-jumping status in Ireland and Europe.

Judy Cazabon: Riding centre
This indomitable woman of West Indian descent made little of the obstacles that were her lot. She had the determination and courage to overcome setbacks and to achieve the lifestyle she loves, a life with horses, teaching people to ride and running her trekking centre in Cleggan.

Val O’Brien: National hunt trainer
He took over the Co. Galway yard on the sudden and early death of his father Tommy in 1985. His Grange yard now has forty stables. Head lass and amateur jockey Lorna Murphy also features.

Hardiman family: Ponies in the city centre, riding clubs and dressage
A three-generation city centre family involved with ponies and horses since the early seventies. Younger family members have branched out into dressage and riding clubs.

Reviews
....'opens with a wonderful insight into the late Garnet Irwin',
'a beautifully illustrated publication'  - The Irish Field

'You are brought into the mindset of ordinary people who had extraordinary talent in relation to the horse'
'Includes some fascinating stories from a bygone era and some with a more contemporary feel' - Irish Farmers Journal

'There is an elegance about the book - the design, the cover and layout'  - Galway Independent


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