TUESDAY proved a red letter day for the Meath Hunt Branch of the Irish Pony Club as three of its senior members passed their A test with honours at Killossery Lodge Stud, where the examiners were Faith Ponsonby and Bridgette McCarthy.

The trio of Grace Hanna, Clodagh McGauran and Sophie May Nolan had to bring two horses apiece to the Glynn family’s north Co Dublin venue and these not only had to be up to the tasks in hand under their own riders, but then had to be partnered by the other two candidates.

Not too surprisingly, the three, who were the only ones to take the A Test, expressed their thanks to Sophie May’s aunt Kay Nolan.

She is the Branch’s senior coach, devoting many hours of her time to their preparation for Tuesday’s assessment, and is also chairperson of the IPC’s training committee.

We don’t know how Grace, Clodagh and Sophie May celebrated their success, but we do know that Kay drew stumps on the season by heading off on Thursday with husband Paul for a motorcycling tour of Devon.