Punchestown Racecourse, Naas, Co. Kildare -- Set in the lush pastures of Co. Kildare, towards the end of April, Punchestown Horse Racing Festival draws large crowds and has been one of Ireland's premier social events for more than 150 years. First held in 1850, it was revived by Henry, third Marquis of Drogheda (Louth) in 1861, when he was instrumental in having a new course laid out over natural countryside. As well as ordinary bush fences, horses had to jump up banks and drop banks. The famous "big double" bank was incorporated in 1862 and a stone wall added in 1863. The meeting was popular from the beginning, but never more so than from the time the young Prince and Princess of Wales, the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of England, visited it on Tuesday, 16th of April, 1868. The Prince and Princess of Wales traveled by train from Kingsbridge (now Heuston) railway station to Sallins and then in open carriages to Punchestown via Naas, which was decorated with a triumphal arch over the main street. Onlookers in their thousands carrying small flags lined the route. The Prince of Wales visited again, on his own, in 1885, and yet again in 1904 when, as King Edward VII, he was accompanied by Queen Alexandra and his daughter Princess Victoria. The Marquis of Drogheda died in 1892, but since his death Punchestown has been fortunate in having adminstrators of the highest calibre. To the present day races take place over this natural countryside, with improvement having been made in 1997-98. Tales of spectacular horses and riders are commonplace down the year. Like "Little Horse" who, at the age of 14 years won the 2-1/2 mile Prince of Wales' Stakes and on the following day won again in the supreme test, the Conyngham Cup, run over four miles. Fearless jockey, Harry Beasley, rode numerous winners towards the end of the 19th century and early part of the 20th. He confounded all by riding his own mare, "Prince of Arras," to victory in the four-mile Maiden Plate, when he was 71 years of age! Tom Dignam, the trumpeter, was still going strong in 1999. Now in his seventies, he has been coming to Punchestown, since he was 4, when his father carried him on his back from his home four miles away. Tom's grandfather rode regularly at the meeting, so the family's association with Punchestown goes back for generations. On "Walking Sunday," held prior to the race, you can stroll around and talk to the locals who are delighted to talk of by-gone days, and the music of the "Wolfe Tone Brass and Reed Band," from nearby Ballymore Eustace, contributes to the carnival atmosphere. -- Excerpt, "Ireland of the Welcomes."