MARK Ruddock has resigned as chairperson of Dressage Ireland after two and a half years in the role, with Joan Adrain announced as his replacement.

The news follows the public airing of a conflict between Dressage Ireland and Horse Sport Ireland over the decision not to send a team to the 2026 European Junior Riders’ Championships. The decision was based on a national threshold imposed by HSI over and above the FEI minimum entry requirements for the event. Ruddock’s resignation has not been attributed to this issue.

In an open letter to members, Ruddock said: “I want to thank you and your support network for participation in the sport of Dressage. Without you and your trainers, we would still be trying to work out the outside rein!!

“However, seriously, DI has achieved so much in recent years. In the past few days, I’ve taken account of all the achievements of DI whilst I was chairperson. Training camps, up to five this year covering the whole of Ireland and the first in the West. Training is the foundation of Dressage, so the popularity of camps - youth, senior, grassroots and advanced - is just fantastic.

“Senior home nations, they are now so popular that we had to create a tough selection policy and riders have really stepped up to the mark. Congratulations to all those that have made the recently-published long list.

“With me, Dressage Ireland has launched a steward training course working towards FEI standards. We now have stewards at National Championships. I would like to remind riders, please ask the stewards about anything you are unsure about, it’s heart-breaking to get eliminated just because you didn’t check whether your tack is legal or not.

“I like a party, as most of you know, so the Ball started again. Thank you Lorna and her committee for the first Ball and to Anna Hughes for heading the team for this year’s one. We agreed to run this every second year, so please book tickets early.

“I also asked the board to agree a travel bursary for our high performance athletes, this is now in place and, in addition, we managed to secure a donor, who would support riders that achieved 68% in Grand Prix. These will be given out at the AGM.

“With the development of Irish Dressage Youth Academy (IDYA) training, through both Elevate and IDYA, it was possible two years ago to run the first youth national championships, ensuring that our developing riders could have a festival of their own. And this year, we have combined them into the festival of dressage.

“Sometimes, we seek to reach targets that are just a number, but my job as Chair was to increase membership and participation. I’m happy that in 2023 we reached over 1,000 members - a true milestone.

Speaking following her appointment, Joan Adrain said: “I am honoured to take on the role of Chairperson. Our sport is built on the passion and commitment of our members and volunteers, and I look forward to working with the Board, our committees and the wider dressage community to continue developing opportunities for riders at every level. Together, we can strengthen participation, support excellence and ensure a positive future for dressage in Ireland.”

Letter

Two days after Adrain’s appointment, a letter was sent to her by HSI COO Avalon Everett, addressing the conflict over the team decision. The letter can be read in full on the HSI website.

It reads: “HSI has no issue with Dressage Ireland raising concerns regarding matters affecting the discipline or seeking clarification regarding decisions within the High Performance programme.

“However, HSI is concerned that correspondence relating to an ongoing High Performance matter was placed into the public domain at an early stage and that the issue subsequently became the subject of extensive public discussion and commentary across social media platforms.

“Dressage Ireland’s correspondence was issued to HSI on June 9th, 2026 and, less than 24 hours later, Dressage Ireland elected to publish the correspondence on social media, before HSI had been afforded an opportunity to respond.

“Of further concern is the emergence of information, now in the public domain (Facebook), indicating that at least one combination referenced within the wider debate was never intended to travel to the Championships, due to welfare considerations relating to the horse. If that position was known, or reasonably capable of being established, prior to the commencement of public commentary regarding team representation, it raises questions as to whether the public narrative fully reflected the factual position.”

The new chairperson was then invited to organise a meeting with HSI to discuss the matters further. It is understood a response has not yet been received.