more than 18 months' work from Teagasc, the RDS and Horse
Sport Ireland (HSI). It was launched in March 2015 by then
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney.
On foot of the report, an extra allocation was provided to HSI
to establish an international marketing division. Subsequently,
Elaine Hatton was appointed as director of International
Marketing and this new division has now been set up.
Transfer Programme, which was rolled out by the Department
of Agriculture, Food and the Marine during 2015. This model
has been very successful in other sectors and it has the
potential to be a game changer for the sport horse sector.
Agriculture, Food and the Marine also allowed us to introduce
the new performance foal championships in showjumping
and eventing, as well as young mare championships in both
disciplines.
recommendations in Reaching New Heights. However, it
is clear that this will not be possible without the allocation
of significant extra resources to the sector. Reaching New
Heights will need a real commitment from the Government in
the form of substantial extra funding.
sport. Highlights included the showjumping team winning the
Aga Khan in Dublin and the eventers having their first-ever
win in a Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Nations Cup,
when they won the final Nations Cup event of the year at
Boekelo.
series which was run by HSI, in conjunction with the Irish
Greyhound Board and Showjumping Ireland. The fact that it
secured the Best Innovation in Irish Sport award at the Irish
Sport Awards was due recognition for all those involved.
in the European Championships at Aachen by less than one
fault. At that event, Cian O'Connor and his horse, Good Luck,
had their round interrupted by a ring steward. Unfortunately,
Cian and Good Luck picked up four faults. The subsequent
appeals all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
(CAS) proved to be costly and time consuming. The original
concept of CAS, as a sport-specific dispute resolution
mechanism to avoid costly court cases, is far removed from
the reality. It is now a very expensive route to take. Of course,
we could have decided not to appeal but when there is still
a chance of getting a team to the Olympic Games, there is
an expectation from riders, owners and other stakeholders
that the National Federation will exhaust every possibility to
secure a place.
of successes, while there were medals for our young
showjumping and eventing horses at their respective
World Championships. This augers very well, particularly in
showjumping, as it provides demonstrable evidence that
progress is being made with the breeding and production of
Irish Sport Horses.
competition, returned a positive test. However, this is an
area we need to keep as a top priority. The integrity of the
competitions in our sector underpins the entire industry and
must always be a top priority.
commitment they have shown and continue to show to the
organisation and the sector in 2015. As CEO, I want to say a
special word of thanks to all HSI sta for their work in 2015,
and for showing remarkable commitment and flexibility.
Horse Sport Ireland