THE eight renewal of the Irish Pony Club exhibition race provided a very exciting finish to a great day’s racing at Naas last Sunday.

Ten members of the Irish Pony Club aged between 14 and 16, from across the country, got to showcase their talents while experiencing what it feels like to ride in a race.

The 10 riders earned their right to take part by completing a two-day Jockey Skills Course at RACE earlier this month where they were trained on riding technique, fitness and race-riding tactics.

Each training session was scored over the two days with the highest score winning the Irish Pony Club Jockey Skills Perpetual Cup.

This year’s winner was Alex Harvey from Naul, Co Dublin and he was presented with his cup last Sunday by RACE graduate Shane Foley. Nerves were to be expected but when it came to race time all riders put their training to good use, showing composure before and at the start and riding hands and heals throughout the race.

The finish couldn’t have been more exciting with Robbie Jackson from the Shillelagh & District branch and Brandon Wilkie from the East Donegal branch dead-heating for first place. RACE graduate, Leigh Roche judged the most stylish riding performance and this was awarded to Charlie O’Dwyer.

The measure of success for this event was the beaming smiles on all of the riders’ faces.