A GROUP of Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) affiliates and industry bodies have sent a blistering letter to the Ministers for Sport and Agriculture in reaction to the ongoing examinership of the governing body for equestrian sport in Ireland.

The signatories included HSI affiliates (ShowJumping Ireland, Eventing Ireland, Dressage Ireland, Para Equestrian Ireland, Royal Dublin Society Equestrian Committee, Irish Pony Club and Northern Ireland Horse Board) and non-affiliates (Equestrian Competition Venues Owners Alliance, Irish Horse Board).

They wrote that, in their view, HSI “does not currently have the required structure and specific skillsets to implement vital strategies to grow and develop Irish Equestrian Sport and increase earnings and jobs in the Sport horse industry”.

“The construction of HSI as a company limited by Guarantee (owned by neither the sport, [nor] industry, [nor] the state) provides little by way of accountability or transparency to the equestrian industry and its sport bodies,” the letter stated.

“HSI describes itself as ‘Ireland’s governing body for equestrian sports’ yet has no members to govern, volunteers to engage with or sport competitions to organise. The decline in the interaction by HSI with the industry and sporting bodies predates Covid, however, it has accelerated since the restructuring of those relationships through the revised Memorandum and Articles as amended by special resolution on January 25th, 2024. Currently, there is no ongoing, structured engagement with the affiliates.

“The sport horse industry is worth over €1 billion annually to the Irish economy, supports upwards of 20,000 jobs, routinely wins underage and pony medals in all disciplines and always qualifies riders to represent Ireland at the Olympics and Paralympics. To safeguard industry jobs and earnings, high-performance sport and increase recreational participation, the affiliates, in normal circumstances, would call on Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to urgently:

  • Replace the existing Horse Sport Ireland senior management team;
  • Appoint a new Interim Board;
  • Commission a forensic review of the financial affairs of HSI;
  • Make a commitment that the “investment” required by Horse Sport Ireland will not be levied on the sports bodies, who have no responsibility for causing it;
  • Protect sport and high-performance funding from HSI’s historic liabilities;
  • Protect FEI recognition, international entries and essential services for Irish riders and horses throughout any restructuring.”

    • The letter goes on: “In this instance, we are asking both Ministers to engage with the Examiner to ensure that a new HSI has a prospect of survival by addressing the issues outlined above. Any proposal for survival must also address HSI’s future governance and provide for meaningful affiliate involvement going forward. As interested parties, the affiliates will engage with the Examiner. Without affiliate support, there is no realistic prospect of Horse Sport Ireland’s long-term financial or operational viability or indeed any reason for it to continue in existence. Finally, we ask the Minister for Agriculture not to approve any further contracts with Horse Sport Ireland until the Examinership is resolved.”

    It is understood a response from the Ministers had not yet been received at time of print. The interim examiner is due to return to the High Court with a premilinary report on Monday, September 14th.