Horseware end New Heights sponsorship

HORSE Sport Ireland will take on the title sponsorship of the 2018 New Heights Champions Series, alongside TRM, following the decision by long-standing sponsor Horseware Ireland not to continue the deal for the 2018 league. Lorraine MacGuinness, events and sponsorship manager at Horseware, said: “After five years of sponsoring the Premier/New Heights series we have decided to concentrate on other areas. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with TRM as joint sponsors along with Showjumping Ireland and look forward to working with them in the future. As always, we are committed to supporting Irish Equestrian and will continue to support our numerous sponsorships across multiple disciplines.”

Call for sulky bye-laws

THE jury in the inquest into the death of 12-year-old Sean Doyle, who died after being thrown from a sulky in February 2016, have recommended the introduction of bye-laws specifically relating to the regulation and safety consideration of the use of sulky cars on public roads.

Doyle, from Melrose Avenue in Clondalkin, died from severe injuries when the sulky car he was on collided with a truck on the main road. Speaking at the inquest, Doyle’s grandmother Mary Doyle said: “We are so glad of these recommendations. There is absolutely no way any child should be out on a sulky.”

Badger vaccination

THE Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, has announced that vaccination of badgers against tuberculosis (TB) will commence as an integral part of the bovine TB eradication programme from this month.

Minister Creed said: “This marks a major step forward in the bovine TB eradication programme. The move follows years of scientific research funded by my Department into the use of BCG vaccine in badgers, designed to reduce the impact of disease in this wildlife host back into the cattle population.”

Minister Creed welcomed the fact that the vaccination of badgers enables Ireland move forward towards eradication of bovine TB in a controlled holistic way, which will serve to protect the badger population whilst also protecting cattle and the livelihoods of farmers.

Jung to make debut

THE world number one event rider Michael Jung has been selected to compete in the five-star show jumping Nations Cup in Abu Dhabi next month. With fischerSolution, Jung will make his Nations Cup debut in his second discipline. Jung will also compete at the five-star show in Bordeaux in February, and he finished 11th in the Rolex Grand Slam Grand Prix at the Geneva Horse Show in December with the nine-year-old mare.

Endurance in snow

SWEDEN will become the first country to hold an international endurance race on snow this weekend. The CEI1* 80km is divided into three loops of 30km, 30km and 20km.

The relatively flat track is located in the middle of Sweden and riders will be offered perfect ground through both forests and villages. Over 70cm of snow has fallen during the past days and the snowfall does not look like decreasing. The weather is expected to be mild with temperatures of minus five degrees.

The contestants are mainly from the Nordic countries, but the goal is for the race to grow to attract international riders.