HURRICANE Ophelia was not the only thing whipping up a storm in Ireland in the past week.

Also roaring was the trade at Goresbridge Sales which smashed records in the foal section and posted some of the best renewals for some years.

A new record price of €35,000 was achieved for an Irish sport horse foal from the powerhouse that is the Broderick family’s show jumping and breeding operation at Ballypatrick Stables in Co Tipperary, also responsible for the second top priced foal lot.

On a week when the weather did its best to deter international buyers from travelling, the big prices continued relentlessly for the pick of the three and four-year-olds offered at the Kilkenny auction house with the top four lots fetching well over €100,000 between them.

Hats off to all the breeders, producers and riders involved. The results underlined that a very good market is there for the right foal or horse. (See Sally Parkyn’s sales reports and results A52-56)

Those breeders and operations that are truly fit for purpose will survive and prosper. Rightly so. They are showcasing the best the Irish Sport Horse industry has to offer.

For smaller players, the breeding, production and potential sale of every horse or pony really counts and if you want to learn more, don’t miss out on Teagasc’s upcoming Equine Breeding Events in Sligo (October 26th) and Kilkenny (October 31st) with strong panels of breeders, producers and riders all willing to impart their expertise.

FUNDING

Just launched this week by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, was The Contribution of the Irish Sport Horse to the Irish Economy 2017 report, co-authored by UCD’s Dr Alan Fahey and Horse Sport Ireland’s Director of Breeding, Alison Corbally (see A48).

Key statistics reveal that the Irish sport horse industry contributed over €816m to the Irish economy and supports over 14,000 full-time jobs with some 14,810 active breeders, 60% of whom are based in the west and south-west of the country.

In an interview with Irish Horse World this week, Minister Creed praised the resilence of the Irish Sport Horse industry which he said had really proved itself by growing its contribution to the economy by over €100m since 2012 despite the worst economic crash in our history.

As yet, the public funding our industry garners is little more than crumbs off the top table.

In his interview above, Minister Creed set out a clear path to unlocking more funding.

Food for thought indeed.