The fancy dress(age) event at the Stockholm Horse Show has grabbed the headlines in recent years for a particular brand of bareback riding featuring professional riders clad in little more than their lingerie.

This year's opening night festivities offered no such titillating distractions for the male minority in attendance at Stockholm's Globe arena (Globen).

The world's largest indoor equestrian event (in spectator terms) got off to a rousing start with partner country - the USA - offering up the highlight of the evening in the form of the All American Cowgirl Chicks.

The Chicks originate from Weatherford, Texas and served to underline that equestrianism is a woman's domain and they made no excuses for it.

The Chicks daring rodeo show displayed a full range of horseback acrobatics complete with flag-waving pomp, ten-gallon hats galore and glittering costumes.