THE four-legged mammies weren’t left out in the Bailey household on Sunday, as this photo of Maeve and Fuerty Welcome Mist shows. “She’s home from a winter of grass and getting some treats on Mother’s Day after her son Fuerty Welcome Lad was awarded Class 1,” said Maeve, whose Breeders’ 10 feature appears on page 85.

Further west, two-week-old Andrew Bourke’s first introduction to horses on his parents Sean and Catrion’s Brookfield Farm in Rathlacken, near Ballina, was captured in a lovely Facebook story.

“We were out checking a home-bred mare that’s close to foaling,” Catrion explained.

”She’s in foal to Emerald Quay, standing with Ita McDermott and Shane Quinn and is a special mare to me, so perfect for his first encounter,” she added about Quinwood Fair Lady, who has also appeared in the couple’s wedding photos and is the dam of Brookfield Queen C.

“She was fifth in the Dublin three-year-olds and got awarded the top-placed four-year-old in the Ulster SJI awards with her young rider Alex McMaster.”

A great role model for young Andrew is Rhys Williams, who recently graduated from the FEI Young Rider Academy. He left Jos Lansink’s yard on Saturday night to catch an 11pm flight from Brussels to surprise his mother Paula for Mother’s Day.

“We’ve been trying to go down to the Sunshine Tour, but [husband] Adrian is busy with our own young horses. I just couldn’t believe that Rhys did that!

“His grandfather drove to Dublin to pick him up, Rhys got to our house at 4am, slept in the guest room downstairs and then walked into the kitchen while we were having breakfast!

“A flying visit, he left Ennis at 1 o’clock yesterday [Monday] and we’re just smiling since.”