Jessica Kurten was in the RDS yesterday morning and surrounded by hordes of screaming teenagers clamouring for her autograph. The Antrim- born rider wasn't getting ready to jump in the Aga Khan Cup, though. Instead, she was helping five youngsters to prepare for the biggest day of their lives as they made their debut in the Ballsbridge main arena.
The world number four was over from Germany for the day to join forces with garden expert Diarmuid Gavin, whose latest television series, Diarmuid's Pony Kids, starts next month.
Gavin's entrée into the equestrian scene came last year when he learned to show jump for Only Fools On Horses, with Kurten as one of the judges.
The Irish duo have joined forces for the latest series, in which five inner-city kids have been given 10 weeks' training in the build-up to yesterday's main arena competition.
Kurten has been over to coach the youngsters once a week and found it a challenge to take kids that were more used to galloping around bareback and make them into riders. "It was a big change for them to get into a saddle and learn a bit of discipline," she said.
So would the quintet be fazed by appearing in the main arena? Not at all, according to Kurten. "They'll be like pop stars getting up in front of an audience. They've all got strong personalities and they'll rise to the occasion."
The cheers from the stands could still be heard echoing around the RDS after 8pm last night, but if you want to know which of the pony kids won, you'll have to tune into RTÉ 1 on September 6th.