BREEDERS may be used to viewing stallions at this time of year and studs such as Ballylinch, Kildangan and Gilltown have regularly opened their gates in this last weekend before the breeding season starts, but for many others the Stallion Trail organised by ITM is a first taste. If the first two days are anything to go by, visitors and stallion masters alike will be queuing up to continue the initiative next year.

Even before the first gates opened at 9am on Thursday, ITM reported a phenomenal response to registration via their website. Such is the appeal of visiting the nation’s stud farms that RTÉ even broadcast news of the Stallion Trail on the radio and, not surprisingly, the uptake was immediate.