PERHAPS only a playwright like Hugh Leonard could conjure up of a life as event-filled as his spry 80-something namesake. Or “83. No, 83 and a half!” to give the Co Meath horseman his precise age.

For many, Leonard is a familiar sight at his beloved Dublin Horse Show and at shows, point-to-points and hunt meets around Ireland, while his worldwide travels have seen him travel pedigree bulls by air to North America and search for polo ponies in South America. But like any good book, these often unexpected gems of stories slowly unfold as the conversation progresses, not to mention seven pages of meticulous notes, in his copperplate writing, later supplied with even more details of an extraordinary life.