TWO years ago, its chairman Tiernan Gill announced at the Irish Horse Board annual general meeting held in the Bloomfield House Hotel about the Board’s intention to bid in the then-upcoming Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine tenders process.
Successful in securing the Marketing/Promotion brief for the sport horse industry, board members, officials and a dozen members were present again in Mullingar for an update report.
“2023 was a very significant year for us. It marked the 30th anniversary of the Irish Horse Board. We put our boots back on the ground last year, as we took responsibility for the promotion and marketing of the Irish sports horse industry, made possible through the contract awarded to us by the Department of Agriculture, following our successful tender process,” the Ballina businessman said.
Initiatives such as a new press office, website, social media platforms, attendance at high-performance events at home and abroad, ongoing dialogue to improve studbooks and “a hugely successful international promotion and marketing conference, which we held in the Lyrath Estate last November,” plus the recent issuing of a second newsletter to shareholders were listed. “The feedback that we have been given from our stakeholders has been incredibly positive,” added Gill.
More details on the reinvigorated Horse Board’s activities from April 2023 were detailed by Alison Corbally, the former Director of Breeding and Programmes at Horse Sport Ireland, who was appointed that month as the new IHB Director General.
International events attended by the IHB team included Kentucky Horse Trials, Burghley, Horse of the Year Show and the WBFSH young event horse championships at Le Lion d’Angers. On home ground, the Irish Breeders’ Classic, the HHS Charity Show, where the Irish medal-winning riders at the FEI Youth European championships the previous weekend received presentations, and Dublin Horse Show, where the IHB’s new trade stand in Simmonscourt was a major success, were part of its marketing presence.
Liaising with Fáilte Ireland and Enterprise Ireland also paid dividends, while a productive meeting held between the IHB chairman and RTÉ Head of Sport Declan McBennett at Dublin has since resulted in increased coverage of Irish equestrian success by the national station.
Comdt John Ledingham, Seamie Hughes Kennedy, Jessica Burke, Niamh McEvoy, Richard Howley and Joanne Quirke on stage at the IHB conference \ Laurence Dunne Jumpinaction.net
Linking in with Belgian database Hippomundo has significantly upgraded the new results service on the Irish Horse Board website, which also features the Land of the Horse promotional video.
“It’s not our mandate to provide sponsorship, but we can help with promotion,” said Corbally, who also praised the various Irish sales companies for their cooperation. Hosting a ‘Studbook Village’ at Dublin and the National Ploughing Championships was another possibility mooted for 2024.
Corbally confirmed that the number of paid-up Horse Board members has dropped to around 1,000. According to one attendee, the main factor for this was the loss of the foal registration discount, which Horse Sport Ireland had previously offered to paid-up IHB members.
Comdt John Ledingham, Seamie Hughes Kennedy, Jessica Burke, Niamh McEvoy, Richard Howley and Joanne Quirke on stage at the IHB conference \ Laurence Dunne Jumpinaction.net
The issue of many breeders experiencing lengthy delays in receiving foal passports from HSI was raised.
“We are the representative breeders’ body. So people had gone directly to HSI and expressed concerns, they put in a passport in May or June and were still without it in December. They came to us seeking help and that is our remit. Sometimes that proved fruitful, but we will help everywhere we can, that still is our remit first and foremost. We’ll help them [breeders] where we can and hopefully resolve the situation,” replied Corbally, when asked why the IHB had sought information from breeders, through The Irish Field, about difficulties and delays in obtaining passports.
Constructive discussion
Dermot Forde praised Gill and Corbally for their presentations and the “excellent constructive discussion” that arose on Tuesday night. He also raised the topics of elitism in equestrian sport and the impending future impact of social licence on equestrian sports.
“I was, earlier this month, at the first conference for seven years for national head veterinarians, which was held on the continent, 62 countries represented. And it was a huge part of the discussion, where we’re going in the future and what will be tolerated in equestrian sport and, indeed, in racing as well.”
“Secondly, in relation to elitism, it’s true that our riders have been hugely successful. But if you look at the obscene financial figures that are paid now for top show jumping horses and the wealthy people involved at the top, there is a huge elitism there, as perceived by the ordinary Joe Soap. We have to look at our sport and try and ensure that it is not perceived, in fact or non-fact, as being elitist,” he said, suggesting that the frustration that many equestrian fans have over the lack of mainstream media coverage could relate to equestrian sport being regarded as elitist by the man on the street and subsequently of less interest to TV executives.
“The more people that get involved with any part of equestrianism, the better. It’s a sport that brings families together, it keeps people together and it’s good for everybody. Young kids from any background can actually compete because they’re good and these kids, they might now be jumping expensive animals but they started off hunting in Mayo or Sligo, jumping hedges and falling into drains. They worked their way up and became good at the sport and good for themselves,” responded Gill, who will undoubtedly continue to deliver that message to the RTÉ sports department.
Accountant Eilis Quinlan, issued a clean audit report for the IHB accounts of 2022, which recorded a surplus of €13,679.
The figures presented at future Annual General Meetings will surely change now that the Irish Horse Board has evidently found a whole new purpose in life.
Region 4 Reps: IHB chairman Tiernan Gill and fellow western region board member Liam Lynskey at the IHB AGM in Bloomfield House Hotel / Susan Finnerty
Gill talks..
THE perception that the Irish Horse Board is still part of Horse Sport Ireland, IHB membership benefits and why he took on the task as IHB chairman, were topics Tiernan Gill discussed after the AGM.
Q. Two years ago in March when the most recent AGM was held, the plan was for the IHB to apply for the DAFM tenders. Fast forward to February 2024, what do you think has been achieved?
TG: I’d be the first one to say I don’t think there’s been huge achievements, to be honest. We’ve gone out on our own after we were all part of HSI. We had a long path to go, we’ve started on that path and we’ve got a little bit of independence.
I think, personally for me, the main achievement was to show people we can stand on our own two feet.
Having the IHB stand at Dublin for example, people could see what we’re about. At the moment, there’s still a huge confusion [in the equestrian world] about the different roles of the IHB and HSI.
I can still see people think that there’s no difference between the two identities. Yes, we’re linked in a certain way, because we have to work together and this isn’t running HSI down. We need to work together for the sport horse industry.
Our remit is to do the promotion and marketing of this sector for the Department. After the first year, we’ve done a lot and we can do a lot more.
Q. Amongst the developments since the tender was awarded, was tonight’s news about the IHB office move to Goffs?
TG: And it’s a good thing. When we won the tender process, we had to have an office, so initially we got a place in Portlaoise, near the centre of the country. Now we’re in Goffs, in Naas. It’s a horse place and an address that horse people, say, from overseas, will be familiar with.
Q. The actual day-to-day running of the office is done by a relatively small team?
TG: It’s a small team, but we have people in the Horse Board, who are very educated as to what’s to be done correctly. The likes of Alison [Corbally], who was in HSI for years, Nadia Rea, you have Nick Finnerty and Brian Hennessy, our press officer. That brings a certain amount of continuity and they know the industry. That’s the reason why, for a very, very small amount of people, we’re doing an awful lot of work because the team know what has to be done, what’s required. So it’s the right people just doing the right job.
Q. IHB membership - any headway in building up numbers again, as the main incentive for most members to pay their membership fees was for foal registration discounts?
TG: Well, there is. People may well think what’s the benefit of joining the Irish Horse Board? So the only thing is, money talks. We’ve worked with and are working with several companies to offer discounts to Horse Board members. For example, it’s beneficial if they (members) could get a discount going into the RDS or a euro off The Irish Field.
The sales videos promotion that Alison mentioned, the idea is members who come on board will get a proper video of their horse, which if they went to any videographer to do that, was going to cost at least €400. It will be a proper video that they can also have on the IHB website.
And when we travel to, say America, Europe and the UK, if someone comes to the tradestand, looking for a three-year-old or a five-year-old, they can press the button and those horses’ videos are there. So it’s going to be done for members at a very, very discounted price. That’s another benefit of being a member.
Yes, there were discussions with Horse Sport Ireland over the foal discounts. It takes time, but that’s what I would like to see for the Horse Board down the road: more members, more benefits for those members.
Q. How is the relationship between the IHB and HSI?
TG: We have a relationship with HSI, as I’ve said to HSI, ‘Look, we’re doing a job together’. There’s some matters to work on, such as duplication of social media posts about Irish-breds and riders’ results. We offered to pay for the printing of the stallion book as a promotional tool. We said, ‘People actually want to bring home the stallion book’ [instead of the online version].
No, it’s not our [IHB] role, because HSI are Production.
So yes, we have some things to work on, but it’s not that we know everything. We don’t know, but with everyone together - the Department, HSI and ourselves - there’s a lot of knowledge.
Q. Do you have a fixed term as chairman?
TG: We have four years [the DAFM tender term] to do this job. We’re in it now, I’m going to most definitely keep going and I want to see we get this job done correctly. My goal is to have many more members and I do agree when people ask what’s the benefit? We’re working on that.
My input, which isn’t huge, okay, but I just like to try to have a structure set in place for whoever comes after us. Then we’ll have a much easier time to do the job we’re supposed to do: promoting the Irish horse.
I actually think there’s light at the end of the tunnel and that we can do something to help the industry.
Q. Quite a commitment for a voluntary role?
TG: I started off thinking that it would be an awful lot easier job than what it was, but when I say I’m going to do something, I do it. And every morning when I get emails from Alison and Nick and everybody else, I say what am I doing this for!
I’ve been going since this morning. I have a meeting at 7am tomorrow morning in Sligo, I’m in Germany tomorrow evening for another meeting, I have to be in Austria on Thursday morning, I’m back in Sligo again on Saturday. I am so busy with work, but I just want to keep this [IHB role] going and do it right.
Irish Horse Board Members
Irish Horse Board timeline
1993 - The Irish Horse Board Co-Operative Society was set up. Its role included maintaining the Irish Sport Horse and Irish Draught studbooks and providing a range of breeding and marketing schemes for up to 30,000 shareholders. Board members are elected from five regions, plus one ministerial appointee.
2008 - After a Special General Meeting, held in Abbeyleix, the main functions of the Irish Horse Board (IHB) were effectively handed over to the new umbrella body for equestrianism within Ireland: Horse Sport Ireland (HSI).
The IHB continued to run board member elections and an annual general meeting for members. A discount for IHB members when registering their foals with HSI was available, a major incentive for breeders to pay their IHB annual membership fee of €25 (early bird)/€35.
2022 - At the IHB AGM in March, new chairman Tiernan Gill announced the Board’s intention to bid in an upcoming tendering process, overseen by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). When the tender results were announced by DAFM in late September, HSI retained the Studbook and National Breeding Services roles, while the IHB was awarded the provision of Marketing services for the sport horse sector.
In October, HSI lodged judicial review proceedings to overturn the decision to award the marketing tender to the IHB. HSI dropped their legal challenge in December.
In December, HSI announced changes to its studbook and registration services for 2023 and that the previous foal registration fee discount available to IHB members was to be discontinued.
2023 - In April, the appointment of Alison Corbally as the IHB Director General and the lease of office space in Portlaoise was announced, as the IHB commenced its new remit.