Innovation in Sport award at the Sport Industry Awards 2015,
organised by the Federation of Irish Sport. One of three
shortlisted, the Jumping in the City initiative that saw top-
level showjumping take place in Irish greyhound stadia during
the summer, took the winner's trophy at the ceremony held in
the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin.
The award, sponsored by
`seizing an opportunity to create a new market or industry';
creating an `e ective communication strategy around the
innovation'; and producing `an immediate and likely longer
term impact on sport'.
In December 2015, the Irish showjumping team won an
Outstanding Team Achievement award at the Irish Youth
Foundation Excellence in Sport Awards. The annual awards
recognise outstanding contributors to Irish sport. The Irish
showjumping team were chosen as award recipients on the
back of their victory in the Aga Khan Nations Cup at the RDS
in August.
The Aga Khan team of Bertram Allen, Greg Broderick, Cian
O'Connor and Darragh Kenny, and team manager, Robert
Splaine, joined a galaxy of sporting stars on the night. The
awards were hosted by three-time Major golf champion,
Padraig Harrington, while jockey AP McCoy received the
Outstanding Lifetime Achievement award. Ten awards were
presented on the evening, with funds raised going to the Irish
Youth Foundation.
partnership that confirmed Investec as the first-ever
corporate sponsor for the Irish showjumping team. The
partnership saw Investec sponsoring Team Ireland's
involvement in Dublin Horse Show and the FEI European
Championship at Aachen, Germany a key stage for HSI as
Ireland's showjumpers focused their individual and collective
e orts on qualifying for the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Investec in Ireland is a leading specialist bank and wealth
international specialist-banking group, with headquarters in
Johannesburg, South Africa. Investec Ireland has undertaken
a number of high-profile sponsorships and is the current
sponsor of Monaghan GAA. It has also developed enduring
relationships with leading sports figures, such as Paul
McGinley and Jonathan Sexton. Internationally, Investec has a
sponsorship portfolio encompassing horseracing, cricket, golf,
hockey and cultural events.
Speaking at the launch of the sponsorship, Michael Cullen,
Chief Executive of Investec Ireland said: "Investec is really
pleased to partner with HSI. Ireland is an exemplar in the
equestrian world renowned for breeding world-class horses
and developing showjumping talent to compete with the
very best at international level. Its commitment to excellence
reflects on our own focus in Investec, on being the very
best at what we do. This latest sponsorship builds on many
high profile and enduring engagements Investec has both in
Ireland and internationally with leading teams and sporting
individual sporting figures in golf, rugby, hockey and horse
racing." The Investec Irish Showjumping Team went on to win
the 2015 Dublin Nations Cup and claimed the prestigious Aga
Khan trophy.
five equine discussion groups under the new Department
of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's (DAFM) Knowledge
Transfer Programme. HSI sta member, Michael Doherty, has
been approved as one of the facilitators for the scheme by
DAFM.
A suite of knowledge transfer measures are included in
the new Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which
includes support for knowledge transfer groups across
the beef, sheep, dairy, poultry, tillage and equine sectors.
The measure is co-funded by the European Agricultural
Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) with total funding
of 100 million available for the measure under the Rural
Development Programme. This will provide for 27,000
farmers participating for three years in knowledge transfer
groups across the dairy, beef, equine, sheep, tillage and
poultry sectors. The programme will be administered by
the DAFM and delivered by a network of DAFM-approved
facilitators.
The scheme design has been guided by experiences from
previous Dairy Advisory Schemes and Beef and Sheep
Discussion Groups and following extensive consultation with
a wide range of stakeholders. The scheme builds significantly
on the discussion group model and is designed in such a way
as to ensure the farmer and advisor engage in one-on-one
discussion on key aspects of a farmers' business, such as
profitability, environmental sustainability, breeding and herd
health.
Based on the level of interest from breeders received by
HSI, Michael Cullen will be facilitating groups in Tipperary,
Galway, Sligo, Kildare and a there are plans for a joint Laois/
O aly group. Each group has received the maximum of 18
applications. On successful completion of the programme,
each participating breeder will receive an annual payment of
750 per annum for three years.
Dublin Nations Cup 2015.