I WOULD not have thought of going to the Galway Blazers’ Thursday meet but I am really glad I did. As when I was growing up, hunting with the Blazers on Thursdays were the days to bring out young horses and ponies new to hunting, and we often came home on a different pony or horse than we set off on as we had our fair share of falls!

We would sometimes go sick from school and beg and borrow any animal on four legs regardless of their reputation, and friends like Patsy Corcoran and Pat O’Neill never missed an opportunity. I remember being offered a pony that had done nothing, in Athenry when I was probably not more than 10 years of age. Early in the hunt, he ran away with me only stopping when both of us were in a lather of sweat near Castle Ellen which is a few miles from Athenry. I was not worried about the pony but I was sorry to lose my new flat tweed cap which I usually turned backwards to stop the wind catching it. No fancy tack shops in those days and no riding hats unless somebody picked up an old one.