The wedding had a special equine guest in the shape of Pippa’s ex-event horse, who was commandeered for some photos by their young bridesmaid Tabitha Kyle, John’s niece and daughter of Irish international rider Mark and his wife Tanya.

The day had an equestrian theme throughout, with all the tables were named after major three-day events around the world and customised rosettes with each guest’s name used instead of placecards.

Congratulations also to international riders, eventer Sam Watson and show jumper Shane Breen, who both welcomed new additions to their families in recent weeks.

Sam and his wife Hannah (Sparkles) welcomed their new son Toby into the world last Sunday morning. Young Toby hung on just long enough to avoid being born on his elder brother Archie’s birthday.

One suspects Sparkles would have been just as happy if Toby arrived a few days earlier, if Sam’s Twitter account is anything to go by. In the days preceeding Toby’s happy arrival, the WEG-listed rider tweeted a picture of a selection of spices including turmeric, paprika and chilli, with the declaration “Operation #GetBabyOut has been stepped up a notch....!”

Meanwhile Shane Breen, another Tipperary native, and his wife Chloe welcomed their fourth baby into the Breen family. Wolfe Breen was born on July 14th weighing 8lb 3oz and joins his siblings Lorna, Darcy and Douglas in Team Breen at Hickstead in Sussex.