ONE of the many bodies affiliated to Horse Sport Ireland is the Irish Harness Racing Club which, in common with all others, likes to encourage younger people to get involved with their particular discipline.

Five of the younger brigade in harness racing were presented with Special Appreciation Awards at last Saturday night’s annual Standardbred Harness Racing of Ireland awards dinner in the Sands Hotel which is just up the road from the country’s main track, Portmarnock Raceway. Four of the quintet comprised Fermanagh’s Luke Burns (15), who does a lot of the home work with the season’s leading trotter Epsom de Corvees; Adam Corey (12), who screams himself hoarse whenever his family’s Fantastic Western is in action; Emma Roche (13) who keeps her father Billy’s Urbano des Selles sweet and saw him win in both attelé (yoked to a sulky) and monté (under saddle) this year; and Calvin Broughan (15) who is apprentice driver at Ger Kane’s Mooreside Stud.

They received their awards from an equally young Tommy Gosson who assisted Sean Duggan, MC for the night, with the presentations.

Having returned to her table with her Special Appreciation Award, nine-year-old Jodie Sheridan was soon back on the floor as she and her mother Natasha were announced as winners of the set of racing silks sent over from the United States by champion Canadian-born driver Yannick Gingas. Jodie discarded her very smart dress to wear the silks for the remainder of the night.

Jodie has a real favourite in Springhill Biscuit who she grooms both at her grandfather Joe’s Springhill Stud training centre and at the track.

This is quite a clever girl as, while she uses her mother’s surname Sheridan among the harness racing fraternity, when attending the greyhound races, she uses that of her father Robert O’Rourke whose own father, Larry, is one of the leading trainers.