IT was very much a case of horses for courses last weekend as the Glanusk International Horse Trials sprung into life and held sway at the Legge-Bourke Family Estate.

After more than 30 years the sport of eventing finally returned to the stately splendour of Glanusk Park in four day's worth of equestrian excellence.

As Harry Legge-Bourke stated in the event's official programme, "It's with enormous pleasure that the family welcomes One and Three Day Eventing back to the estate and we very much hope that Glanusk will become an annual fixture on the International Eventing calendar."

Judging by the huge turn-out on Saturday, which was billed as the main spectator day, then this definitely is an event that will continue to grow in size, scope and success.

Having only visited the picturesque grounds of Glanusk previously for the dose of music, mayhem and mud that flies under the banner of the Green Man Festival, I was curious to see what the organisers of the Glanusk Horse Trials had done with an enchanting estate that still has all the beguiling charm and character of a bygone era.

Well, to begin with, I was more than pleasantly surprised by the number of food stalls offering a diverse and mouthwatering array of cuisine for the discerning glutton to ponder over.

From traditional festival fayre such as burgers, hot-dogs, pizzas and hog roasts, to the more

unusual and rarefied platters of fresh fish and venison, the air at Glanusk was alive with the seductive scent of good food.

Now humans, like horses, need to be both watered and fed, so after feasting until your heart's content, if you wished to reawaken your appetite again with a good drink, there was plenty of beverages at Glanusk to choose from.

Carefully avoiding any stall that looked like it was trying to push tea or coffee on any unwary punters, I made my merry way to the smallish, but perfectly stocked beer tent, and with pint in hand continued on my pilgrim's progress to the 'shopping village'.

The stalls here were largely orientated to those with a passion for horses, and let's face it, that was not exactly an unusual marketing decision considering the theme of the weekend.

However, in amongst the 'horsewear and care' stalls, there was more than a handful of places selling the sort of unusual arts and crafts capable of catching the wandering eye and sometimes even persuading the wandering hand into making a transaction.

Making a brief detour to the Pimms tent to idle away a few minutes in the midday sun, I shortly found myself wandering in the direction of the archery stall where eagle-eyed local lad Kayne Weeks was proving steady of nerve and sure of shot as he fired home all of his arrows in an unnerving manner.

I later learnt that the five-year-old. who was cheered on enthusiastically by his little sister Lydia and proud parent Gareth, had never picked up a bow before. A fact which led the bemused archery stall-holder to scratch his head and comment, "It's no wonder the Welsh have always made such good archers."

As for the young lad in question, he simply said, "That was great! I felt just like Ben 10."

In fact, everywhere you looked on Saturday there was children enjoying themselves in timeless pursuits, no matter if they were pretending to be Robin Hood, trying to knock a coconut off its perch, trying their hand at skittles, riding on a carousel, or simply staring in awe at the Rockin' Horse Stunt Show riders who stole the show on Saturday afternoon.

Riding into the main arena like black-clad bandits from the old West, these horsemen and women entertained the crowd with such stunts as riding three horses whilst standing up and performing the death-defying trick of disappearing under the belly of the beast and popping up the other side while the horse was still in full gallop mode and thundering along like a steam engine.

And when you consider all that 'horseplay' was done to a full-on soundtrack of eighties metal bands such as Bonjovi and Motley Crue, before exploding into a grand finale that featured the glamrocker classic 'Blockbuster' by the Sweet and of course, 'Crazy Horses' by the Osmonds, then the following Falconry and Welsh Hill Pony display seemed pretty tame in comparison.

Nonetheless, they all added their own ingredient into the eclectic mix of what was truly a memorable day and one which also succeeded in raising money for the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal.

Of course, the Family Day was just a small part of four days that revolved around the sport of Eventing.

For those not familiar with the sport, Eventing, also called Horse Trials, was originally devised as a military competition to test the skills that horses require on the battlefield - obedience, courage and stamina.

Local lass and King Henry VIII school teacher Kate Jones came sixth on her horse Benson in the BE 90 class and told the Chronicle, "It was fantastic to ride in such a great event and I'm thrilled to bits because this is the first placing that Benson and I have achieved."

The 28-year-old who is a member of Golden Castle riding school added, "It was a really well put together cross country course and I had such a nice day. It was a lesson in itself to watch the CCI class and all the other entertainment and shops on offer made for an excellent experience.

"I just hope Glanusk does it all again next year."

Overall, the Glanusk Horse Trials attracted an impressive and mixed field of riders to what used to be a key training ground for Badminton competitors, and judging by the positive and enthusiastic reactions of everyone involved, Glanusk looks certain to become an annual fixture on the International Eventing calendar once again.