Horse Sport Ireland, the National Governing Body for Equestrian Sport in Ireland, has made public a plea to be allowed return to activity on the same basis as horse and greyhound racing during the current five of lockdown restrictions.
It has revealed serious concern for equine welfare and jobs in the rural economy and has raised the matter last Thursday, October 29th, in direct correspondence with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConologue.
It has proposed an immediate temporary solution to the current restrictions arising out of Level 5. but learned at the weekend that the request had been denied.
Ireland is one of only eight countries to have three equestrian teams qualified for the Tokyo Olympics but under current Covid-19 restrictions, all sport horse production has been suspended on This is in stark contrast to Ireland’s Horse Racing and Greyhound sector which have been allowed to continue to operate during Level 5 restrictions.
HSI devised and implemented robust protocols for the sector allowing activity to recommence on May 17th 2020 which effectively provided a safe environment for non-contact activity to continue over the past number of months. However, the introduction of Level 5 restrictions saw all equestrian activity shut down.
Given that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have specific responsibility for equine welfare and the control of horses, there is now grave concern that due to the cessation of activity in 2020, the loss of income for breeders and producers is developing a concerning trend on the ground in respect of calls for specified Equine supports.
Equine businesses have a level of costs, feed, veterinary and welfare, apart from wages costs that cannot be stopped, delayed or avoided when shutdowns are imposed.
Horse Sport Ireland has raised the alarm over a potential return to the trends seen from 2010 to 2013, where due to financial insecurity of producers and owners, horses became unwanted stock leading to a welfare crisis.
The organisation is now urgently requesting a hearing before the Agriculture Committee to discuss the immediate crisis facing the industry and the unequal treatment of the Sport Horse sector in comparison to Horse Racing, Greyhound Racing, Point to Points and Harness Racing.
Sport and Economy
Horse Sport Ireland represents a sector comprising mainly of professional producers and athletes who derive their income from sport horse production and equine farming and individual sportspeople competing within the sport against high-performance athletes in the same competition.
In addition to this, it represents a number of high-performance athletes who consistently compete at the highest level nationally and internationally. Ireland is one of just eight countries with teams qualified in all three Olympic disciplines of Show Jumping, Eventing and Dressage. Concerns are mounting that Irish athletes now find themselves at a huge disadvantage to their medal rivals for the Tokyo Games.
The Sport Horse Industry contributes around €816 million per annum to the Irish economy and employs over 14,000 people.
The industry faces a potentially very dark period in the context of both jobs in the rural economy and equine welfare issues. Ethical equine welfare includes access to regulated activity and competition for the current sport horse population in Ireland which is estimated to be more than 135,000 sport horses.
“Horse Sport Ireland are very concerned that due to the cessation of activity, the industry is now facing a perilous situation heading into the winter period,” said acting Horse Sport Ireland CEO Joe Reynolds.
“The sector endured significant hardship in the spring of this year due to the cessation of activity. With moderate levels of activity over the summer months, some recoup of losses were made, however this is now being wiped out due to the Level 5 restrictions.”
“The current penal restriction has dramatically truncated the traditional end of season stock movement, with equines having little or no performance testing record for onward sale. As such, breeders, owners, producers and athletes are now facing a horrifying position of being overstocked with dwindling or no income.”
“We are acutely aware that many businesses across Ireland find themselves in a similar position during this public health emergency. However, in the Republic of Ireland, both the Thoroughbred Racing and the Greyhound Sector are permitted to operate throughout this restricted period while in Northern Ireland the DERA has classified Sport Horse equestrian activity on an equal basis with Horse Racing.”
Sport for Business Partners
