RIDERS entering FEI events at home and abroad will be hit with a new Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) levy of €60 per entry effective Wednesday, December 3rd. The new levy has been met with outrage, with industry heavyweights labelling the move a “money grab”, “a kick in the guts” and “crippling”.

The new €60 levy, which could create a revenue stream estimated to be in excess of €300,000 per year based on the number of past Irish FEI entries, was announced on Friday.

It was included in a press release about HSI’s new ‘integrated international FEI entry system’, which will go live on Wednesday through www.HorseSource.ie.

The new platform, HSI states, will allow international athletes, or their nominated agent, to manage all their entries instantly, from first entry to amendments, substitutions and withdrawals, with ‘convenience, efficiency and security’.

The press release said: “This launch accompanies the introduction of HSI’s new High Performance (HP) funding model and includes a significant investment in Irish teams. We are also pleased to share our intention to support the programme by reducing direct entry cost burdens for athletes at designated Nations Cup events.

“The introduction of the Horse Source entry system will include a HP levy, with each entry priced at €48.78 per horse (€60 incl VAT). There is a €65 (€79 incl VAT) cost for late entries if the final entry deadline has passed. There will be a fee of €20 (€24 incl VAT) for withdrawals or substitutions.

“This levy is an investment in Irish equestrian excellence. Each entry supports HSI’s HP programme, helping fund the continuous development of Ireland’s riders, horses and teams in an ongoing commitment to athlete development at all levels. Every time an athlete enters a competition through Horse Source, a portion of the levy will contribute to supporting Ireland’s HP programme, helping to strengthen the pathway for Ireland’s athletes, horses and teams as they compete on the international stage.”

HSI provided no further details on where the HP funding generated by the levy would go other than to state: “Subject to programme budgets and income levels, HSI aims to cover the entry fees charged by organising committees at selected Youth and Senior Nations Cup competitions, and to continue covering entry fees at World and European Championships.”

The final list of supported Nations Cup events will be confirmed in consultation with the incoming High-Performance managers.

Disappointed

Breeder and owner Barry O’Connor, who also sits on the HSI show jumping advisory group as the rider’s representative said: “I’m very disappointed, but I’m not surprised - it’s typical of what happens when you get people that run out of ideas, or sponsorship ideas, to go and levy their clients. It shows a lack of understanding for the costs of running horses. HSI management seem to think by the time you get to FEI level it’s all privileged riders and owners paying, but that’s not the case.

“HSI has no corporate partnerships, engages in no effective lobbying and appears indifferent to other revenue streams. Making everything more expensive is an old fashioned, amateur way of doing business. As an owner, if I have five horses in Oliva; that’s an extra €300 a week for five weeks - it’s not some subtle little charge. It’s money grabbing, there was no consultation and it just shows you how far behind we have gone in the last three or four years under the current management of our sport.”

Mullingar Equestrian owner Robert Fagan who runs a two-week international event said: “They’re going to put us all out of business. We run an international show, we stepped it up to two weeks with three ranking classes, and outside of paying stewards and officials we pay approximately €17,000 in levies and fees. Then you look at the riders that compete at our show, who probably only compete at one other international show in Ireland, can they afford to pay €350 to register with FEI via HSI, with €60 a horse on top of their entry? It’s crippling.

“If the money was being spent wisely and we could see a return perhaps I could understand it but among the juniors I know competing internationally it’s the parents who spend the money, not HSI.”

Eventing Ireland chairman Niki Potterton said: “This will kill our lower level riders at internationals - it’s now going to cost someone to register the horse, themselves, enter, plus now an extra €60 and many of these riders only do one international a year. It will certainly affect Irish event entries and the owners, who are propping up the high-performance programme with their horses, are now being kicked in the guts again.”

Annual fees

News of the levy comes as riders are digesting a hike in the annual FEI fees for registering to compete internationally. These fees are collected by HSI, who add a hefty administration fee to many of the items (see table), especially rider and horse registrations.

To register as a senior FEI rider via HSI, the 2026 cost is €355 (up from €300), €296 above the fee of €59 charged by the FEI. While the FEI does not charge for under 18s registrations, HSI imposes a fee of €180 (up from €125) for handling this. By comparison, the French national federation charges €65 for rider registration (see table). With regard to equine registration, the 2026 FEI horse registration fee is €59, to which HSI adds €76, charging €135 (up from €100).

The new HSI charges on FEI fees mean that for an Irish senior rider to qualify to enter an international event on a horse that wasn’t previously FEI recognised, the starting amount is a minimum of €740 (rider fee, horse fee plus recognition card). That is before paying any entry fees or the new €60 levy on every entry.

Asked why the HSI charges were higher than other federations HSI said: “We don’t have a membership subscription model like other federations would have and therefore this is another method we use to fund the HP model.”