Minister Charlie McConalogue and the Department of Agriculture will soon have to make a decision that will have very far-reaching effects for the Irish Sport Horse breeding industry. On foot of a ruling by the European Court of Justice, the running of the Irish Stud Book was put out for tender. Monday next is the deadline for interested parties to make their submissions.

As I see it there are just two main contenders – the incumbent Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) and former holder the Irish Horse Board (IHB). When the Irish Horse Board came into existence in 1993 it was given the job of running the stud book. This decision was contrary to how things are done in the great continental sport horse nations where the breeding and equestrian functions are separate and the breeders are in command of their own destiny.

The questions before the Department of Agriculture right now are these:

  • Has the unification of breeding and sport really worked?
  • Which of these two organisations, IHB or HSI, can do the best job for the breeders?
  • Is there a way of having sport and breeding function separately but in tandem? (The image of two great plough horses working separately yet together comes to mind).

    • In recent years I have attended many breeder meetings around the country. I constantly came away with the sense that there is a feeling of isolation and disconnect within the membership from the stud book administration. “We want our voice back and to feel in control of our industry,” was a constant theme. This frustration was most recently enunciated at last week’s AGM of the Irish Draught Horse Breeders Association. It also emerged in Kildare man David O’Brien’s recent letter to The Irish Field: “All is not well and confidence has been lost in the administration of our sport horse industry,” he wrote.

    Government Support

    Since the Horse Industry Act was published back in 1970, the fundamental philosophy underpinning it has been to help “functions in relation to the breeding, sale and export of horses.”

    This same ideal has more recently been expressed in documents such as HSI’s Reaching New Heights which set as its goal “To develop individual breeding strategies to produce both show jumping and eventing horses which are internationally benchmarked.”

    The organisation that has the leadership, energy, sensitivity and ability to bring the thousands of breeders along with it in doing that should be the winner here.

    Note: In an update to my recent report, Spancil Hill Fair will run this year and has insurance cover for its traditional event in June – more on this next week.