‘KEEP a fella busy and you will generally keep him out of trouble’ - such as setting him a schedule like that followed recently by Birdhill show horse producer/exhibitor/judge Michael Lyons.

He first won the young horse championship at Cappamore in mid-August with his wife Rachel’s Kilmastulla We R Maximus. Eight days later it was on to Limerick Show, where he showed George and Jennifer Haverty’s Pepsi Max to win the prestigious Limerick Lady Championship for two-year-old fillies. A week later, Lyons changed hats to judge the ISA All-Ireland colt final at Scariff then, after a weekend off, he headed to Co Kerry, where he was one of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board stewards for last Sunday’s first day of racing at the week-long Listowel Harvest Festival.