Does anyone show their Connemara at a rated show? Do you clip and how do you handle the feathers? I had a trainer (previous) who suggested I totally clip her so she would look like a Welsh pony. Obviously didn’t do it. Do you braid the mane? TIA!!
I have shown a purebred Connemara at USDF shows. I did not clip. The only trimming I did was excess hair in the ears and banging the tail. I left the mane long and didn’t braid, but did what looks like a weave.
I know other folks that pull their Connie’s mane and braid. It really is your preference how much clipping and trimming to do.
I clip legs on both of my Connemaras. I pull ones mane and braid it. The other has a very think crest and wire like hair so I roach his mane. The roach mane always gets compliments.
You can show Connemaras either way. They can be natural mane and feathery legs like the native ponies they are, or they can be turned out like a hunter pony. I am pretty sure I have seen ponies shown with pulled manes unbraided as well as braided.
I would probably braid if I had a pulled mane, personally.
My last connemara had nice feathering so just pulled his mane and braided. My new one just got a complete body clip including the feathers as hers were just a wavy mess, she gets mane pulled and braided as well.
LetItBe
You really can go either way. I have no issue with doing feathers at a connemara breed show or a schooling show, but at a larger show I would opt to clip and do dressage braids. I have known of owners to leave the feathers and do a running braid as well. When I have clipped the legs on my ponies, I do not shave them super close as I want them to look like they have substance.
I own a halfbred, so not too much in the way of feathers but some.
I do not clip his legs. I trim his “excess” ear hair (aka what sticks out) and his pony beard. I pull his mane and do standard dressage buttons.
He is an awkward 14.2 and a half size so I like the little bit of feathers to suggest well bred pony cross.
And as my trainer says: “Hard to see on a galloping horse.” 
I’ve clipped some “feathered” ponies and horses for shows.
Some owners wanted to keep the feathers, some didn’t.
There are ways to bodyclip and keep some/all of the feathers.
Typically, at non-Connemara-restricted shows, purebreds are shown with long, unbraided manes and halfbreds are shown with short, braided manes.
With my two halfbreds, it depends how close we are to the Region Connemara show- I like to have a long mane for that show.
I never clip the legs, but there are plenty of people that do.
I typically trim the long ear hairs, and the chin hairs. But some people clip out the entire ear, and others don’t trim at all.
It kind of depends on whether you want to “advertise” or “minimize” the fact that he/she is a Connemara.
LOL…well, I’ve shown welsh cobs for years and that includes the Welsh Pony of Cob type…As a Welsh breeder, please don’t make your horse look like a Welsh. All of mine kept their feathers for most shows and I never, ever clipped the stallions. I’ve braided the mane and with many of mine they require double running manes (one on each side). I’ve also roached one of my welsh cobs. Most of us with breeds that are expected to go ‘au naturale’ or with a specific look in the breed ring (even if we didn’t who in the breed ring) don’t succumb to the ‘desired’ look in the dressage ring and guess what, we still win on occasion with decent scores :winkgrin:
Having said that, however, I have clipped the feathers a couple of times over the last 20+ years at the request of a coach or two. I didn’t see it improve my scores; but, one of those coaches is also a USEF ‘S’ judge. She insists that feathers make it more difficult to see extensions/full range of motion. Again, I still earned medals on said hairy beasts so while I respect her opinion, I’m not really willing to bend/conform for the sake of a score/show if I’m trying to showcase the breed.
I do clip & braid all my half-breds.
Make sure your horse is neat and tidy, mane kept in a manner that isn’t too distracting and you ride the test as it is intended. Not much else to really worry about in the end other than how you ride.
I think it depends on the horse/pony. I would never recommend that someone clip the feathers on a Friesian or a Gypsy Vanner or the like. Some of the Welsh Cobs that have great feathers, I probably wouldn’t either. However, I had a Welsh Cob mare that had “meh” feathers and it just looked sloppy so I did a full clip on her, pulled/braided her mane, but drew the line at clipping a bridle path as I wanted to preserve her pathetic forelock. I know, weird. 
I don’t think of Connies as having feathers, per se, so I’d probably clip the whole darn pony and (gasp!) pull the mane as well. Whatever you decide, you simply MUST post pics, it’s just not fair if you don’t.
I’ve been clipping a bridle path. Her tail is really full and long, so I bang it. I’ve thinned her mane and braided it even though she’s a full Connemara. She has Cushings, but she’s not overly hairy. Her legs though have extra hair in the back all the way to her elbow, so I wasn’t sure what people do in this case. Even though I’ve been braiding her mane, I’m going to let it grow and braid it then. Someone posted a great video on how to braid really long and full manes. When I first got her, her mane was knotted, but some parts were done to her elbows. Pretty cool! Thanks so much for the great responses! I appreciate them!
You could do this running cobra braid…looks so easy to do.
https://www.facebook.com/Levezaequestrian/videos/696992387133129/
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