THE increasing popularity of our native breeds in performance competitions was emphasised last Sunday at Stradbally Hall where the number of entries for the one-day event for Irish Draughts and Traditional Irish Horses was well up on last year, with over 20 listed for both classes.

The event was organised by the Laois Branch of the Irish Draught Horse Breeders’ Association who were extremely grateful to the Cosby family for allowing the Branch access to their lovely estate and also to The Field Equestrian Centre for supplying the show jumps which were erected in the sand arena. The cross-country phase was co-ordinated by Martin Collins with Jennifer Haverty manning the start.