THE Irish Pony Club held their Mackey-sponsored national hunter trials championships at Ballycahane Equestrian last Saturday, four months after their scheduled date of March 11th, when ‘unprecedented rainfall’ in the area forced their postponement.

Despite a summer of intense competition, the fairly recent national eventing championships and a return to school for most members, the hunter trials proved extremely popular - although it was very disappointing that only two squads started in the senior teams of three. Back in 2016, when the championships were held at Annaharvey, the Laois Branch held off 10 other teams on their way to victory.