Paradox Cricket O'Carolan

2000 - 2020

Paradox Cricket O'Carolan was TH Carmody's first foal, by the imported Irish stallion *Canal Laurinston, owned by Joanie Webster of Stonybrook Connemars in Napa, California.

In 2013 Paradox Cricket was donated to Windrush Farm Therapeutic Equestrian Center in North Andover MA where she was a natural: bombproof, eager to please, right size for ground walkers, etc. They were using the wheelchair lift with her after a week and say she has fit in perfectly. Windrush Farm is 50 years old, one of the oldest Therapeutic Riding programs in the country. They have 18 staff and 200 volunteers, and they were founded by Marge Kittredge who was my mother's good friend at college. So it was very familiar for me to be dropping Cricket off at the farm I remember visiting decades ago with my family.


Cricket has found her calling. She is her usual wonderful steady-eddy self with all kinds of riders, and gets to jump with the able-bodied ones. These pictures show a woman who rode her own horse daily until she suffered a head injury one day while turning her own horse out. Now the highpoint of her week are three rides with Cricket, "that wonderful mare." I knew we would find the right spot for her in time.

 
Cricket at Windrush Farm in her new role as a therapeutic riding horse

At the 2011 ACPS Region 1 show Cricket was Champion Mare, Grand Champion Connemara in Hand, and also won the Get of Sire for *Canal Laurinston with Sutton Cardigan and the Produce of Dam (TH Carmody) with Paradox Presto.


Cricket also performed well in the trail class and enjoyed hacking in the hills of Vermont.

Then to top it off, Cricket was promoted to "husband horse" and took Tom safely on a hack around Maudsley State Park (MA) for a warm up.

This was followed by a two day trail ride on the carriage roads in Acadia. Cricket has to trot to catch up with Breeze and me but she is a cheerful worker and very bombproof.

L: Cricket and Tom in recreation mode!

In 2010 Paradox Cricket was leased for the summer by Sarah Chisholm, and then moved up to be my mount as Breeze is retired in foal. Cricket and Sarah attended the HITS on the Hudson Connemara division at a recognized Welsh show, where she was third in hand in the Connemara mares class.

At the ACPS Region 1 show she was second to her dam, TH Carmody in the older mares class, and collected various ribbons. Over Labor Day weekend she made a splash as she brought the bride and groom across the field to the reception after my son Geoff married Sasha Clifton.

 

 
L: Cricket and Sarah Chisolm. R: Cricket with Kayla Ragazzino.

Cricket's 2009 adventure's included beach riding and a summer lease to a pony clubber. She went to the Pony Club Camp at GMHA to improve her eventing skills with Kayla Ragazzino where they had a great time riding with her half brother, Trout Ranch Dennison. Now she is back at 4.0 Farm in Stratham NH, and is ridden by Sarah Chisolm and 2 adults. She is looking more and more like a dressage pony daily, and finds trail rides and the beach a welcome distraction.

 

Above, Cricket in July 2007 with Ellie & Jesse Fortier of Different Drummer Farm, NH, where she is in training with Jodi Fortier to be a hunter pony star.

Paradox Parsifal is an '06 gelding, bay going grey, out of Cricket by Bantry Bay's Archie (*Abbeyleix Wilde Oscar x Cybatina Shelagh).


Cricket was born dun and is greying slowly as has her sire. She was shown in hand at the New England Dressage Association shows, and the Seacoast Sport Horse Breeders at age 2 and 3, and received high marks for conformation and movement.

Cricket's sire, *Canal Laurinston, known as "Chip" was the 2006 recipient of the ACPS "An Tostal Award" for Performance Stallion. He is by Callowfeenish Mairtin, out of Village Laura who is one of the winningest mares in the history of the Clifden show. She is by Thunderbolt.

Cricket under saddle, summer 2007 

Cricket's sire *Canal Laurinston