THE Northern Ireland Festival of Racing at Down Royal is one of the biggest social occasions in the region so, combined with two days of top racing action, attracts many from other equestrian sports to the Co Down track.

Not all were there just to enjoy themselves last Friday as three well-known faces from the showing world were present to help raise money for the ‘Irish Injured Jockeys’ fund by selling Christmas cards and calendars. They were also ‘chatted up’ which didn’t help boost the fund but raised a lot of laughs!

Hilary Gibson, whose Tobergill Classic Felix was show hunter pony champion at the RDS in 2015 and is rarely out of the ribbons, is a racing regular and has been the driving force behind this fund-raiser in Northern Ireland since the death of the much-missed Dorothy Murdoch.

On Friday, Hilary was joined by Felix’s regular rider Rachel Moore and the latter’s mother Shirley who revealed that their good working hunter Country Strong, who was seventh in his Intermediate class at the Horse Of The Year Show, was on a bit of a break.

Meanwhile, Rachel is getting to know the latest animal they bought out of the yard of show horse producer and one-time amateur jockey P.J. Casey. As they were going hunting on Saturday, the Moores were replaced in the fund-raising ranks by Pamela McIlwaine, Ingrid Casey and Jill Connaughton who were all well wrapped-up on a cold day when brisk business kept them on their toes.