For those who've never been, the appeal is hard to fathom. Toffs on horses? For five days? No thanks.

But it's more than just the horses that draw over 80,000 people to the show. There are the busy restaurants and catering vans which sell overpriced burgers for 6. There are the myriad stands selling pony balloons, pony teddies, horse boxes, horse accessories and anything equinerelated you could ever possibly want. There is the somewhat incongruous art exhibition which takes place near one of the main rings.

And don't forget the Evian Ladies' Day competition, where lovely girls compete to win 10,000 worth of prizes.

Then of course there are the horses.

"This is the major horse event in the calendar and we'd be preparing for it all year. It's very competitive, " said Caroline Chambers from Limerick, who grooms horses for showing. "We've four horses taking part in the contests this week and there's a lot of work involved."

There are over 1,400 horses taking part in events over the five days, including the Aga Khan cup which was awarded on Friday. With so many entrants, the timing of the foot-and-mouth scare in Britain seems designed to test the stress levels of the organisers.

Event coordinators have worked with the Department of Agriculture to decrease the risk of foot-and-mouth entering the country.

Horses that come from outside Ireland go over disinfectant mats when entering and exiting the stables, as do the trucks that bring the horses in to the RDS. There is also strict monitoring of passports and ID for horses; two horses have already been suspended for breaches of regulations.

The arrangements have had no effect on the numbers or the spirits of the diverse horse-show crowd.

In addition to the tweedclad long-faced members of the horsey set, there are lots of tourists and families enjoying a day out, as well as groups of teenagers, the last remaining members of Ireland's landed gentry (possibly) and, of course, the Lovely Girls.

The horse show without Ladies' Day would be like Charity You're a Star without Sean Ban Breathnach; lacking in humour and more than a little dull.

The 400 or so Lovely Girls queue in an orderly line to get the chance to go on stage with TV3's Aisling O'Loughlin, where they're asked a few questions and get the chance to show off their walk.

The questions are as entertaining as they are illuminating. One woman is asked about the "thought process" behind her outfit. Surprisingly she doesn't respond by laughing out loud but instead offers a clear and straightforward response, describing what made her choose that particular dress.

A six-year-old girl is asked where she got her outfit.

"Well. . . my mum buyed my dress. And um. . . my mum buyed my cardigan. And. . . my mum buyed my tiara."

One mature entrant wore a sedate white blouse, dark blue jacket, long navy skirt and court shoes. She was welldressed, if not extraordinary.

When asked her name, she replied in a deep voice, "Terry."

Terry may not have been technically a woman but he looked like a true lady.

Competitors Rachael McKeon from Monkstown and Lauren Farrell from Carrick on Shannon (both 18) had come along to the show especially to enter the Ladies' Day contest. "It was totally spur of the moment. We just decided to enter last night, so we laid out all the clothes we had and just chose something from that, " said Rachael. "It was a bit nervewracking being up on stage but it was a good laugh. I don't think we're going to win though, " said Lauren.

Events at the Dublin Horse Show continue right up until 7pm this evening. There's still time to catch some of the competitions. And maybe even a Lovely Girl or two.