WELL turned-out mounted stewards and horses add to any point-to-point and the Kilkenny Hunt meeting outside Bennettsbridge last Sunday was no exception.

In her first season as professional whip to the Foxhounds, Adrienne Copithorne was mounted on Mary, a grey mare belonging to the hunt. The bay gelding Jack, owned and ridden by Brian Murphy, came in for many admiring glances and it was little surprise to learn that he had been placed in a middleweight class at Dublin as a young horse.

Brian is getting ready for the showing season and among the horses he is producing for Gowran exhibitor Pat Loughlin are two new maxi cobs, two middleweight geldings, one a four-year-old and the other five, and a four-year-old lightweight gelding.

They also have three Irish Draughts who they hope to qualify for the performance championship at Dublin including Ballylarkin Silver, a 2010 grey stallion by Young Carrabawn who was fifth in the four and five-year-old class at the RDS last August.

Pat wasn’t at Sunday’s meeting as he had hunter hirelings out with the Kilmogannys. However, Jim Murphy, who helps with the Loughlin horses at shows and is already looking forward to Balmoral, was on hand as he is secretary for the point-to-point committee.

Also on the committee is Charlie Farrell who was clerk of the scales for the afternoon. He was assisted by his 12-year-old son Henry, a keen follower of the hunt and an enthusiastic member of the Kilkenny Pony Club. Good to see such a young face among the officials!