RIDER falls and horse falls in Eventing Ireland competitions were at an all-time low in 2019, according to data released by data analytic company EquiRatings and Eventing Ireland (EI) this week.

The very useful EquiRating Quality Index (ERQI) was introduced to all EI competition at the beginning of the 2016 season to manage the risk involved for each individual horse and rider.

The 2019 season saw the overall cross-country jumping clear rate at national and international level increase to a four-year high of 81.3%. Crucially, horse falls are at an all-time low of 0.49%, the first time the rate has dropped below half a percent. From 8237 runs in the season, there were just 41 horse falls. The rate of rider falls has also dropped to 1.81% (151 from 8237 runs).

“We were delighted to see the numbers coming back in 2019,” said EquiRatings managing director Diarmuid Byrne. “We are very conscious of chance variation and we do not get too ahead of ourselves when we see one year of positive return but is encouraging to see fall rates consistently dropping since 2016 and clear rates increasing. Eventing Ireland and its members are taking the challenges of risk management seriously.”

Some 1259 different riders competed in the cross-country phase this season in Ireland, more than any other year since EquiRatings and EI began working together. EI also saw an increase in the number of horses running cross country, 2147, up 38 on 2018.

“Managing our risk and understanding what measures we can take to improve the sport here has been a key part of the governance in recent years,” said EI chairman David O’Meara, adding: “The latest figures are the result of a number of measures and the hard work of everyone across the organisation, with particular thanks to the volunteers and scorers whose input has been critical in helping us understand where to concentrate our efforts.”

EI90, EI100 and EI110 account for over 70% of runs each season and EquiRatings and EI are now exploring ways to introduce new leagues and records at these levels to continue to grow the sport.