THE horn blowing competition for the Major Victor McCalmont trophy at last Saturday’s Mackey Irish Pony Club hunter trials championships was won by Jack Kent of the Kilkenny Branch.

Major McCalmont was Master and huntsman of the Kilkenny Foxhounds for many, many years and 10-year-old Jack has been hunting with the pack for two seasons. He started hunting when he was six with the Mullinavat Harriers of which his father Robert was huntsman for 17 seasons.

This is Jack’s first year in the Pony Club and he has two Connemara mares to ride, both of whom were bred by his grandfather, Des Kent. The older of the pair is the six-year-old Lilly while Jack has done all the work with the grey’s similarly coloured year younger sister Star who hunted for the first time last season.

Jack’s sister Amy (eight) has no interest in riding so Jack’s previous pony, the 17-year-old Linda, is now being ridden by his five-year-old brother D.J. who took part in children’s meets last season. Like most Kilkenny natives, Jack loves hurling and he plays for Kilmacow. His mother Siobhan, who doesn’t ride herself, brings him to his equestrian and hurling fixtures and listens while he practises blowing the hunting horn which he does a lot!