Deals are struck and money exchanged a practice that continues at the horse fair in Ballinasloe.
Over 30,000 people travel to Ballinasloe in Galway as the town hosts the annual horse fair.
Horses were brought from all over the country and from abroad to be sold at the fair which has been running for 166 years.
The Ballinasloe Horse Fair is the oldest of its kind in Europe.
Seán Ó Neachtain MEP has been attending the fair for many years and is honoured to perform the official opening.
Apart from the horse trading, there are over 160 stalls through the town selling all sorts of equestrian equipment. Mattie Ganley recalls a story of a man buying a horse at the fair only to discover it was, half blind. Cavan man Noel Tierney is on the look out for a few foals but says that they are too expensive.
This year the king and queen of the Ballinasloe Horse Fair were also out and about enjoying the festival atmosphere.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 2 October 2005. The reporter is Irene Ní Nualláin.
