MOST of you reading this will have had no experience of pony racing. You will not have attended a meeting, or even be aware of where this sport takes place. That is not a criticism, just the truth of the matter.

I have had family members compete, the children of friends also, and yet I too am a stranger to it. However, we at The Irish Field recognise the importance of the sport and are pleased to sponsor the leading rider awards each year. The sport also gets extensive coverage in the paper.

This year I intend to redress my long absence from the pony racing circuit and make a number of excursions to the various venues around the country. While this will be an enjoyable experience in itself, it will also serve to demonstrate the regard that we should all have for pony racing.

The thing is that pony racing sits in a very peculiar place in the structure of racing. It is officially an ‘unrecognised’ event, leading to severe punishment if any licensed persons are found to have participated. Yet it has been, and continues to be, a training ground for some of our finest riding talent, both on the flat and over jumps.

A look back at the long, and growing, list of top riders in Ireland and Britain who have graduated from this very competitive circuit is proof of the sport’s necessity and of its value. Yet we continue to allow it to exist in some sort of twilight zone, at arm’s length from any authoritative recognition.

Pony racing thrives because of a passion held by many volunteers, and these unsung heroes and heroines deserve to be acknowledged for their efforts.

I cannot say if the sport is seeking official recognition, or what form this would actually take, but I do know that it is time to bring it more centre stage.

In Britain the sport of pony racing is in that place, with pony races being held on the major tracks too, and they have a racecourse series, with a major sponsor, since the early part of this millennium. Is it time we had something similar in Ireland? Could this help to encourage more people racing, and introduce a new generation to the sport of thoroughbred racing? I think I know the positive answer to both of these questions.

The time is right for this discussion to take place. Have you a view on it?

Let me know.