11/12/08 THE 2008 Irish Sport Horse Breeders Awards took place last night (December 10th) in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel, Co. Laois in conjunction with the Annual General Meeting of the Irish Horse Board Co-operative Society Limited. Speaking at the awards, the Chairman of the Irish Horse Board Co-Op Joe Walsh said that 2008 had been a good year for Irish breeding. Once again the Irish Sport Horse Studbook was the leading studbook in the world for breeding horses for eventing. “These awards are an opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of Sport Horse breeders who strive and achieve excellence on a regular basis. The Sport Horse sector is worth over 400 million euro to the Irish economy and breeding is the cornerstone of our industry, ” he said. Mr Walsh thanked the Breeders Awards Committee of Col. Ned Campion, Mr. Michael Slavin, Mr. Michael Hughes and Mr. Charlie Ripman for selecting the recipients. There were twelve awards presented on the night. Full details of award recipients are outlined below.

10/12/2008 THE GRAND Final of the Horse Sport Ireland Winter Tour will take place on Saturday 13th December, at Cavan Equestrian Centre. The full startlists can be accessed and downloaded HERE The Winter Tour Finals will kick off with the horse classes, followed by the ponies. There will be 9,000 euro in prize money on offer, as well as training bursaries, trophies and rugs for the winners. With 1,500 in prize money for each of the horse classes and 1,000 euro on offer for the pony classes, competition is sure to be hot. In addition to prize money, training bursaries will be awarded to the winning rider in each class. HSI will organise a group training day next Spring for the winning riders in both the horse and pony sections. Cmdt. John Ledingham will provide the coaching for the horses and Ian Fearon will provide the coaching for the ponies. The Winter Tour Final action will kick off in the main arena in Cavan Equestrian Centre at 9 o'clock. All are welcome to attend.

08/12/2008 WITH an Italian Bank Holiday delaying the normal Sunday Grand Prix at Manerbio until today (Monday) Ireland's Niall Talbot had to wait an extra 24 hours to display his best form of the show with a comfortable win on his own nine year-old mare 'Onisha'. The 38 year-old Swiss-based rider put Italian runner-up Melanie Gruber in the shade by almost four seconds in the Grand Prix's ten horse jump-off and recorded one of only two double clear rounds from the 33-strong field of starters. Talbot, who won the Copenhagen Grand Prix earlier this year with 'Tecqui d'I' and represented Ireland in the Canadian Nations' Cup at Spruce Meadows in September, also had a fourth place in Manerbio's Young Horse class today with 'Nina des Ulis'.

08/12/08 KILL International Equestrian Centre was packed to capacity on Friday evening (December 5), for Horse Sport Ireland's “The Bit Between the Fences ”, an innovative demonstration evening designed to help riders improve their flatwork and show jumping technique. Over the course of the event, which was attended by more than 800 horse sport enthusiasts, trainer Gisela Holstein with the help of International riders Cian O'Connor, Heike Holstein and Eric Holstein provided invaluable insight into making the most of a horse's potential. Cian O'Connor commented afterwards: “Nights like these emphasise the importance of coaching. These horses make the exercises look easy when they're actually very advanced. ” It was a very progressive evening beginning with young horses working over ground poles and finishing with a Grand Prix horse jumping a tricky S bend line, in which the dimensions of one of the fences was 1.50m x 1.80m, in other words - international standard."

07/12/08 FIFTEEN year-old Emily Turkington from Co. Down notched up yet another win on the international pony circuit today (Sunday) with victory in the Hengelo Grand Prix in the Netherlands. Turkington, who was in the medals only last week at Neeroeteen in Belgium, brought the 13 year-old bay gelding 'Sambo Lino' across the finishing line at Hengelo a tenth of a second ahead of German challenger Laura Klaphake to claim the Grand Prix rosette. Meanwhile fellow Irish rider Bertram Allen and the bay mare 'Acapella Z' took fifth place with one of only five clear rounds in the 14-horse jump-off. Galway's Michael Duffy contributed his part to the Irish effort with a 13th place on the Connemara pony 'Sillogue Darkie'.

5/12/08 HORSE Sport Ireland's eventing High Performance Manager Ginny Elliot has named her provisional Senior Eventing Squad for 2009. The squad is: 1. Geoff Curran with Balladeer Alfred, Kilkishen and The Jump Jet 2. Brian Curran Cournane with The Sally Rod 3. Sally Corscadden with Millridge Kalmar 4. Ciaran Glynn with GFG Killossery Kruisita 5. Niall Griffin with Lorgaine 6. Mark Kyle with Step in Time 7. Louise Lyons with Watership Down and Murphy's Miracle 8. Joseph Murphy with Master Boy 9. Jim Newsam with Lara's Song 10. Austin O'Connor with Hobby du Mee, Pocket Rocket and Lily of the West 11. Michael Owen with King Bob 12. Sasha Pemble with I've Been Dun and Hyanie D'Aubrie 13. Elizabeth Power with Kilpatrick River 14. Patricia Ryan with Fernhill Clover Mist 15. Michael Ryan with Master Mexico 16. George Russell with Young Man and Super Seal 17. Steven Smith with Castlehill and Fernando 18. Sam Watson with Ballybolger Bushman

02/12/08 THE LAST qualifier in the HSI National Winter Tour took place at Kernan's Equestrian Centre last weekend, with horse classes running on Saturday and pony classes on Sunday. This leg of the Winter Tour was again well supported, with well over a hundred horses competing on Saturday and strong numbers again in the pony classes on Sunday. Mark Curran and Caddy Moon (ISH) took the Amateur win, while in the 1m class Delyth Collins and Doonaveeragh Courcel (ISH) were victorious. In the 1m10 class, event rider Jim Newsam steered the eight-year old mare, Chamonix (ISH), into first place. Mary McShane and Da Rude (ISH) were the winners in the 1m20 qualifier. The pony classes four double clears in the 128CD class, an impressive thirteen double clears in the 138CD class and eight combinations in the 148CD class jumped two clear rounds. Horse Sport Ireland would like to thank all at Kernan's Equestrian Centre for hosting this leg of the Winter Tour. Results from the Winter Tour classes are detailed below. The Grand Final of the National Winter Tour will take place on Saturday 13th December in Cavan Equestrian Centre. The full list of those combinations qualified to compete is now available. With €1,500 on offer for each of the horse classes and €1,000 on offer for the pony classes, competition is sure to be hot. In addition to the prize money on offer, training bursaries will be awarded to the winning rider in each class. HSI will organise a group training day for the winning riders, in both the horse and pony sections, next Spring. John Ledingham will provide the coaching for the horses and Ian Fearon will provide the coaching for the ponies.

02/12/08 HORSE Sport Ireland were proud to support the inaugural Express Eventing International Cup, which was held on Sunday 30th November at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. William Fox-Pitt (Gbr) rode Ballincoola (ISH) into third place, taking home his share of the £250,000 prize fund. Ballincoola (ISH) also received the Horse Sport Ireland prize of £750 for being the highest placed Irish Sport Horse in the competition. Horse Sport Ireland Board Member, Harold McGahern, made the presentation to William Fox-Pitt in recognition of his achievement. Olympic Team Silver medallists Clayton Fredericks (Aus) and Ben Along Time (ISH) took fourth place, while New Zealand rider, Caroline Powell, and Lenamore (ISH) finished in sixth. Full results and breeding information are detailed below. For information on the WBFSH/Merial Duo Breeding Prize presented to Ben Along Time (ISH) at the Express Eventing International Cup, please see the 'Studbook News' section on www.irishsporthorse.com

02/12/08 FOR the 14th consecutive year, the Irish Sport Horse Studbook has topped the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) Eventing Studbook Rankings. The Irish Sport Horse Studbook was presented with the prestigious award at the WBFSH General Assembly in Lyon, France, on 4th November 2008. As well as topping the Eventing rankings, the WBFSH Merial Duo Breeder's Award 2008 was won by Anne-Marie & James Jamieson, breeders of Ben Along Time (ISH). After hearing about her win, a delighted Anne-Marie Jamieson paid tribute to the both the owners and rider of Ben Along Time (ISH), “I would like to congratulate everyone involved with the horse, especially the owners and rider. Clayton Frederick and Ben Along Time (ISH) are an amazing partnership and I wish them every success for the future. ” At the Express Eventing International Cup, on Sunday 30th November, Alison Corbally (WBFSH representative) made a presentation to Anne-Marie in recognition of her achievement. Ben Along Time (ISH) and Clayton Fredericks (Aus) finished in fourth place in the Express Eventing competition, taking home their share of the £250,000 prize fund.

30/11/2008 JESSICA Kurten's persistence in Dresden's Young Horse classes finally paid off in Germany this morning (Sunday) with an outright win in the Bioranch Young Horse Final. Though she had claimed a qualifying second and fifth in two separate competitions at Dresden with Lady Moira Forbes's seven year-old chestnut stallion 'Naturel', Cullybackey-born Kurten this morning switched to the bay mare 'Fashion' to clinch the Bioranch Youngster Cup. The mare, by 'For Feeling', delivered the goods for the Irish rider with two clear rounds over a 1m40 course and a quarter of a second advantage in the 15-horse jump-off over Dutch runner-up Willem Greve and the Celano mare 'Uceline'. Thirty-nine year-old Kurten will not be taking part in the Dresden Grand Prix today, where Shane Breen is listed as the only representative for Ireland.