EVENT rider Camilla Speirs will be donning jockey silks on Saturday at the country's largest National Hunt festival in Punchestown as she takes part in the 27th running of the Punchestown charity race in aid of the Punchestown Kidney Research Fund.

One of 25 jockeys taking part in the country's longest running charity race, Speirs will be hoping that her cross-country experience gives her the edge. To date, the Punchestown charity race has raised over €1.3 million.

Speirs will have tough competition in the race and among her fellow jockeys are talented young event rider Elizabeth Hayden and Kerri Lyons.

However, Speirs (26), who has competed at seven European Championships; two World Championships as well as the London Olympic Games, will doubtless be giving Saturday's big race her all.

The Punchestown charity race was started in 1990 by Kilcullen butcher James Nolan after he received the gift of a kidney from his sister Catherine in 1987.

Camilla Speirs said: "The Punchestown Kidney Research Fund has committed to giving over €275,000 to various Irish Kidney related projects during 2015 and 2016. The flagship project is to donate €150,000 towards the building of a new Renal Ward for Temple Street Children's Hospital In Dublin."

Speirs applauded the work of the PKRF in promoting organ donor awareness in Ireland, which requests people to consider carrying an Organ Donor Card which gives hope to those waiting on a life-saving organ transplant."

The race is scheduled to take place at 6.40 pm on Saturday and no doubt, there will be an army of eventing supporters cheering on from the stands.