LONGFORD show jumper Aisling Byrne is the definition of determined. The last time she featured in Irish Horse World was last May 2019 when she had got back on a pony for the first time following a freak riding accident 15 months earlier which left her with two broken hips and a crushed pelvis.

Since then, she underwent a hip operation in March, just before Covid-19 struck the country, and had her pelvis tweaked. Then, two weeks ago, Byrne was back in the jumping arena for the very first time at her local show in Mullingar and jumped a clear round.