Think of an Irish agri sector that is bigger than the combined value of its British and French counterparts put together?

The answer is the Irish thoroughbred breeding sector.

We are in the middle of the Dublin Horse Show week at the RDS.

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This event has practically nothing to do with the thoroughbred sector, yet during the week it attracts many more people than would fit into Croke Park.

Last week, we had the Galway Races and at the end of April, Punchestown held its annual major festival.

Again both Galway and Punchestown attracted more than 100,000 people.

We expect our equine representatives either on the racecourse or in the showjumping ring to consistently win at world class events.

When an Irish trained and bred horse wins the Epsom Derby, the Melbourne Cup or the Aintree Grand National or in showjumping, a major Grand Prix in the United States or Germany, there is a broad shrug of the shoulders conveying an expectation that this is the way it should naturally be.

Not only have we more horses per head of population than most other countries in the world, ours are also in a different quality league.

Next month we will see the annual sales of foals and yearlings at the Goff’s and Tattersall’s facilities in Kildare and Newmarket.

At both venues, the world’s biggest buyers of bloodstock will be present to bid for the Irish thoroughbreds that they hope will win a classic race.

Though in the showjumping world, the really high prices are more likely to be negotiated privately rather than in the glare of auction ring publicity.

But behind the glamour events is a whole network of specialised stud farms, as well as ordinary livestock and tillage farms that keep a horse or two.

A lot of people are employed in the sector. These are customers for feedstuffs as well as specialised veterinary, farriery and nutrition services.

There are about 10 times more horse breeders than there are pig farmers and looking at the sector objectively, it is one of the few areas where we are clearly incredibly competitive internationally.

It may be put down to land type, the presence of traditional skills among a widely dispersed workforce or a favourable government policy spanning most political groupings. It was WT Cosgrave who backed the formation of the Irish Army’s equitation school in 1926 and Charlie Haughey that recognised the importance of an enlightened tax policy in the 1960s.

At the moment, Teagasc in response to industry requests, is putting together a new degree course in stud management based on a practical apprenticeship model combined with strategically timed class work. The hope has to be that this development will further consolidate Ireland’s position at the top of the international equine industry.

Editor’s note: in the interest of clarity, Matt Dempsey has chaired the group developing Teagasc’s new degree course.