TV PRESENTER Clare Balding trotted into the city on Saturday to talk about her new children’s novel The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop.

Fresh from the Paralympics in Rio, the award-winning broadcaster and journalist looked happy and relaxed on the main stage of the Playhouse as she read excerpts from the book and chatted about the background and her influences behind the characters and storyline.

Using video clips and a slide show, Clare talked candidly to the predominantly juvenile audience about her life growing up on a racing yard, learning to ride at the age of two, annoying siblings, pressures at school leading to her diffidence and overcoming that by focussing on her strengths rather than her weaknesses.

It was clear that Clare loves children and is a doting aunt to two nephews and a niece, who was the influence for the main character in the book - Charlie Bass, a horse-mad ten-year-old who dreams of owning her own pony.

At the end of the talk, Clare was keen to answer questions, particularly encouraging the less confident youngsters in the audience to be brave and put their hands up.

It was an interesting and fun talk culminating in a little game of ‘name your own racehorse’.

Clare also stuck around after the show to chat and sign copies of the book.