THERE were a number of wardrobe malfunctions at the Show Jumping Awards Gala last Saturday.

Our own Leanne O’Sullivan fell victim herself and reported: “Getting ready for a big black-tie event puts a certain amount of pressure on a girl. There’s the hair, the tan, the make-up and of course ... the dress! Achieving the desired look takes time.

“Last Saturday the pressure was really on as I had approximately one hour to get myself ready. My colleague at The Irish Field Judith Faherty will confirm this as I met her in Kilashee Hotel at 5.30pm and I still had to race home and feed horses before getting ready for the big event.

“I was very proud of having made such a quick turnaround when my friend Sarah Conway and Cathal Daniels collected me at 6.30pm on the button. I jumped into the jeep, delighted with myself, and we set off down the drive.

“We hadn’t travelled two metres when I screamed for Sarah to stop. Sarah thought she had run over my dog but I knew what I had heard and it was no dog ... it was the sound of my beautiful Coast dress being ripped up by the wheel of the car! Sarah worked some kind of magic and managed to hide the rips - at least I hope nobody noticed them - and we were on the road again.

“As we arrived at Kilashee, Cathal added to the earlier mishap by sheepishly admitting that he had forgotten his suit jacket. I wasn’t allowed change my dress though, so he wasn’t allowed go back for his jacket!”

Happily that was the end of the mishaps and a wonderful night was had by all.