PONY riders made a welcome return to the RDS as they were the first division to contest the Horse Sport Ireland-sponsored Championships in the main arena last Friday morning. Although it was a different type of RDS, the stands were full of family support for the young hopefuls.

In a change of format, the 148cm six/seven-year-old ponies were the first to take it on. In total, 24 combinations lined out to take on the Alan Wade-designed course and from those, three six-year-olds and three seven-year-olds booked their places against the clock.