Odsal Stadium always had ambitions to be regarded as the Wembley of the North.

Certainly it was not content with staging rugby league alone.

Apart from speedway and stock cars, both of which attracted crowds in the past, it has seen basketball, wrestling and the Asian version of British Bulldogs, kabbadi.

But one sport which seems an unlikely choice for a converted rubbish tip in suburban south Bradford is show jumping.

Still, the Empire Stadium at Wembley had hosted successful equestrian events, so Odsal, in 1957, decided to have a go. Officials of the British Show Jumping Association visited the stadium and decided it would be suitable for a summer competition.

This decision, incidentally, was made almost 40 years before the Rugby League authorities decided that Odsal was a fit spot for spectators only in summer. During the winter, Bradford Northern could have supplemented their gate money by letting out the bowl for field training trans-Antarctic expeditions.

But back to 1957, with a tempting £1,000 first prize on the table, as well as silver trophies, including one from the Telegraph & Argus, and the promise of members of the successful 1956 British Olympic team taking part, it looked as if the organisers were on a winner, even when Pat Smythe, the world's best-known equestrienne, had to back out because she was out of the country.

In fact within a few days of the contest, the daily start was pushed forward from 3pm to 2pm because there were so many entries.

This posed another problem: where to stable the horses.

It was the biggest problem facing the organisers, but was solved fairly painlessly.

In 1954, British Railways had stopped using the Nelson Street stables for their draught horses. Shortly afterwards they stopped using horses, too, but the stables remained, with a capacity of 118 horses, and wanting only a quick spray with disinfectant to make them fit for thoroughbreds.

One person who recalls the Odsal show jumping days is former competitor Marjorie Booth, who rode Beginner's Luck at the first gathering, and Miladdo at the second and final event the following year.

It was Miss Booth who saw a petulant side to a major star, too, when Pat Smythe sniffily refused to give a local child her autograph. But at least the autograph book contains the best wishes and signature of Miss Booth.

Another entrant was a teenager from Bingley called Harvey Smith. Within a decade he was to be a household name, as show jumping's answer to Fred Trueman.

One man who was surprisingly undisturbed by horses churning up the sacred turf was Bradford Northern's director-manager Dai Rees, who had masterminded the club's three consecutive Wembley finals in 1947, 48 and 49.

In fact Rees was seen to smile. Thirty tons of best river sand had been dumped on various parts of the ground to soften the landing for the horses. The sand would later be incorporated into the Odsal resurfacing project aimed at getting rid of drainage and other problems.

The event was a hit with the competitors, and there were suggestions that a venue had at last been found for future Olympic equestrian trials in the north.

But the paying public was more wary. An expected 20,000 spectators on the second and final day never materialised. Just 6,000 paid to get in, meaning that the break-even target of £3,000 was missed by £1,300.

But there was optimism that, if the contest continued, it would become a successful annual event. Indeed in 1958 organisers had to close the Foxhunter class because it was oversubscribed a month before the contest.

But with experts saying that a third year was what was needed to establish the event, Bradford Northern directors pulled the plug after just two years. It was not making enough money. Instead, in 1959, the stadium arranged a series of miniature car races instead.

Stock cars had come to Odsal in 1954, nine years after the first speedway racing there, so the place was no stranger to noise and exhaust fumes.

Horses, on the other hand, were more environmentally-friendly. And they may have made a contribution to the health of the Odsal turf which no internal combustion engine ever could...