TWO awards were presented on Saturday evening at the Eventing Ireland national championships in Tattersalls with the inaugural Volunteer of the Year award, which was sponsored by Joseph Murphy Eventing, being collected by Sian Hawkes on behalf of Mary Stedeford.

Nominated by the Munster Region, Mary is one of the many unsung heroes of eventing and can be found checking bits, acting as a call-up steward or assisting at the start. She is well-known also among the Duhallow hunting fraternity and as manager of the Bearforest Stud near Mallow.