THE Medical Equestrian Association is holding a meeting at Punchestown on day one of the track’s Winter Festival on Saturday and Sunday, November 19th and 20th.

The organisers are keen to encourage doctors who cover various equestrian events, including point-to-points, to attend, meet colleagues and share their experiences.

Registration will begin in the Chairman’s Box at 9am on the Saturday with Dr Carlos McDowell due to give her welcoming address 30 minutes later. She will then speak on ‘Be Prepared for the Event’.

The Association’s honorary secretary, Dr Antonia Lehane, who is attending an FEI-sponsored International Concussion Consensus in Berlin at the end of this month as a member of the FEI Medical Committee, will report back from there in her talk at 9.50am.

She will be followed by Dr Marina Hennessy Brennan (‘Concussion in Children’) and Dr Peter Whitehead (‘Protective Equipment and Helmets’) after which a 15 minute Questions and Answers session is scheduled and then a refreshment break.

Dr Padraig Sheeran, Consultant Anaesthetist and Dean of Faculty of Sport & Exercise Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, will speak on ‘Analgesia in the Field’ at 11.15am and this will be followed by a 45 minute session of group case discussions followed by summaries and conclusions.

Those attending the meeting will then be free to enjoy lunch and the afternoon’s racing with the more energetic perhaps taking part in a racecourse walk/guided tour of the course at 1.30pm.

On Saturday evening, a reception and dinner will be held at the Killashee Hotel where the first guest speaker will be Lord Carew, Olympian and Honorary Life Member of the FEI Bureau. Dr Peter Whitehead will have a second chance to address attendees when, as Chairman of the FEI Medical Committee, he will speak on ‘Two Hearts – the Road to Rio – and Back’.

There are no official talks scheduled for the Sunday but no doubt there will be plenty to discuss during the second day of the Winter Festival when lunch can be taken at the University Club ‘Hut’ at the racecourse.

For further details including prices, please contact Dr Antonia Lehane, 59 Main Street, Swords, Co Dublin (01-8407430). Her email address is antonialehane@eircom.net. To book a room at a specially-negotiated rate, please contact the Killashee Hotel directly.