Our riders and horses did us proud once again in the
international arena with our underage Show Jumping
and Eventing teams winning a remarkable seven medals
at European Championship level. This year marked
five years on from the establishment of Horse Sport
Ireland's High Performance structures in collaboration
with the Irish Sports Council and our Affiliates. Most
of the credit must go to the very talented riders, their
families who support them and their owners. However,
it is clear that the business model of appointing the
best available High Performance Managers to run a
programme with input from Affiliates, backed up by
top-class coaches and vets and anchored by strong
administration support from Horse Sport Ireland staff, is
working.
number of medals since the programmes were set up.
While the results have been excellent we must continue
to seek ways of improving the system. The introduction
of the Under 25 Eventing squad during 2013 will help to
riders.
National Sports Campus Development Authority
(NSCDA) to develop the National Horse Sport Arena
on the National Sports Campus at Abbotstown. This
has proved to be an outstanding facility for high
performance training and has placed equestrian sport
at the heart of the National Sports Campus. This
development will also facilitate equestrian athletes with
access to related support services provided by the Irish
Institute of Sport.
progress in bringing the sector together. There are
now 27 Affiliate Bodies, including the Irish Horse
Board Co-operative Society and the Northern Ireland
Horse Board. A hub for the sector has been developed
in Beech House in Millennium Park in Naas, where
Discipline Affiliates hold meetings and many now have
Head Offices located in the building.