Little Heaven may have contributed the famous big heart to Connemaras

Someone recently suggested that I use the term “grinch” to refer to Connemara inspectors who hate the Connemaras that look like Little Heaven.

The fictional grinch character created by Dr. Seuss had a heart two sizes too small.

Conversely, Little Heaven, a Thoroughbred allowed into the Connemara breed by Ireland in the 1940s, likely had a heart bigger than normal. This is due to the fact that the Thoroughbred mare Pocahontas shows up in Little Heaven’s pedigree at least 64 times.

Pocahontas is considered one of the most influential Thoroughbreds of all time. She may have carried the “X-factor,” a genetic mutation responsible for causing an enlarged heart. It likely came from Eclipse, who appears in her pedigree 13 times and had a heart twice the normal size. Stallions with Pocahontas in their lineage include Man o’ War, Nearco, Northern Dancer and Secretariat. A necropsy of Secretariat’s heart revealed it was significantly larger than that of an ordinary horse, and the 1973 Triple Crown winner still holds the records for the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont races.

Little Heaven was black, refined, 15 hands and leggy by any standard.

And he did his job well. International coach William Micklem says on his website: Little Heaven was “so successful as a sire that it is now difficult to find a top performance Connemara pony without Little Heaven in the genes.”

Little Heaven offspring took Connemara shows by storm in the middle of the 20th century and won too much hardware for the comfort of American breeders who owned the more coarse type of Connemaras with stocky builds and less athletic ability and drive.

The Little Heaven haters had more momentum than Little Heaven fans, and the haters went on to set up inspections in the American Connemara Pony Society, creating a system that would eliminate pretty horses from the breed. The inspections are designed to pass coarse, thick, short-legged animals while failing refined, leggy ones.

Oddly, some of those inspectors once owned Little Heaven offspring that made them successful owners and breeders and elevated them to a national stage. I can’t explain why they joined the haters.

The inspection sheet that U.S. inspectors use to judge Connemaras has as its top requirement that the Connemara be “rugged and sturdy.”

The “rugged” requirement is a deliberate attempt to stamp out any trace of Little Heaven.

ACPS inspectors have failed black, pretty Connemaras that looked just like Little Heaven, even though the horse had no conformation flaws.

One inspector wrote me to boast that she had recently failed a stallion that was excellent in every way but it wasn’t the right “type” (inspectors’ favorite bullying term). The inspector also couldn’t resist mentioning that the failed stallion looked just like my family’s stallion, who himself was a proud Little Heaven grandson. Our stallion was black, pretty, refined, athletic, intelligent and a great eventer. He also beat this inspector’s horses many times.

I’m sorry I never sought to know the physical size of our stallion’s heart, but I can tell you his emotional heart was many sizes bigger than normal. He gave his all every time out.

I would argue that American Connemara owners should be writing tributes to Little Heaven, not trying to snuff out any trace of his existence. Do you know how many tributes I’ve found on American breeders’ websites?

None.

Though breeders’ horses sure carry his genes.

So, today, Dec. 22, 2014, let this be the first tribute.

May history reflect that Little Heaven, a Thoroughbred, put Connemaras on the map and kept them there.

Ever heard of Dundrum, a son of Little Heaven often claimed by Connemara officials as one of their stars? Dundrum was Tommy Wade’s 15-1 1/2-hand Connemara gelding who became Supreme Champion at the Wembley Horse of the Year Show when he set a record by clearing a 7-foot-2 puissance wall. In 1961, Dundrum was regarded as show jumper of the century when he won five major events at the Dublin Horse Show, the first time in history that so many awards were won by the same rider, and he did it with the same horse, according to the ACPS website and show jumping historians.

Then, there’s Hideaway’s Erin Go Bragh. This handsome bay retired at the age of 16 in 1999 as the most winning stallion in eventing history in North America. Go Bragh sired nearly 200 foals, and his get have been extremely successful themselves. He has Little Heaven all over his pedigree.

Connemaras that pass inspection in the U.S. are ACPS-guaranteed to be rugged and sturdy. Like a rock.

But Connemaras that descend from Little Heaven are the ones likely to possess that big heart that Connemara people like to brag about.

It’s time we give credit where due.

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Little Heaven’s Pocahontas genes

Looking back five generations in Little Heaven’s pedigree:

• Isinglass: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• La Fleche: Pocahontas on the top side (1)
• Tristan: Pocahontas on the bottom side (1)
• Pilgrimage: No Pocahontas at a quick glance
• Gallinule: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• Merry Gal: Pocahontas on the bottom side (1)
• Bendigo: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• Black Duchess: No Pocahontas at a quick glance
• Laveno: Pocahontas on the top side (1)
• Valenza: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• Velasquez: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• Agnes Galliard: Pocahontas on the bottom side (1)
• Amphion: Pocahontas on the bottom side (1)
• Sierra: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• Ayrshire: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• Axiom: Pocahontas on the bottom side (1)

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• Cicero: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• Prim Nun: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• Bayardo: Pocahontas on both sides, twice on the bottom side (3)
• Catalpa: Pocahontas on both sides, three times on the top side (4)
• The Tetrarch: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• Perfect Peach: Pocahontas on both sides, twice on the bottom (3)
• Polymelus: Pocahontas on both sides, twice on the top side (3)
• Bromus: Pocahontas on both sides, three times on the top side and twice on the bottom (5)
• Sundridge: Pocahontas on both sides, three times on the bottom (4)
• Silver Fowl: Pocahontas on both sides, three times on the top and twice on the bottom (5)
• Tredennis: Pocahontas on both sides (2)
• April Flower: Pocahontas on both sides, twice on the bottom (3)
• The Raft: Pocahontas on both sides, twice on the top and bottom 4)
• Miss Desmond: Pocahontas on the top side (1)