THE €700m Irish sport horse industry has been neglected by successive governments for years but the need to present a united front in the lobbying case for more funding was consistently echoed throughout Teagasc’s National Equine Conference.

Attended by over 300 people in Lyrath Estate, Co Kilkenny, on Thursday, lively debate was generated by the top line-up of speakers who included international riders and dealers, businessmen, and breeders at all levels.

Leading economist Jim Power is currently compiling an evaluation report on the Irish Sport Horse industry which will be one of the key lobbying tools for more funding than the current €3m stumped up by the Central Exchequer.

“I’m assessing where it (the industry) should go or could go. I believe that if you are going to the Department for Public Expenditure looking for funding, they are looking for evidence-based policy-making,” said Power who is currently conducting multiple interviews with industry stakeholders as part of his brief.

JOBS ARE ORDER OF DAY

With some 47,000 people involved in the industry and 12,512 employed in it full time, expenditure on goods and services amounts to some €454 million and the industry is rooted in both a strong rural and regional spread throughout Ireland. There is some 15,110 active breeders contributing an estimated €226 million to the Irish economy alone.

Power advised: “The Irish Sport horse industry does make and can make an even greater contribution. Regional economic activity spread around country is a key focus of government policy. You need to fit your industry into this and it can make a more important contribution into the future. Brexit is going to feature very strongly in what I’m saying (to government). The rural environment is facing a challenge.

“The Irish Sport Horse sector is largely neglected. The funding it gets is a demonstration of that. We need to exploit the full potential of this industry. Once it was a world class industry, we have to try and move back up that league table,” said Power.

Teagasc chairman Dr Noel Cawley commented: “We must convince ministers that this industry is worth investing in.”

Referring to the ongong Indecon Review into Horse Sport Ireland, Dr Cawley said similar reviews were carried out into Horse Racing Ireland and the greyhound industry, both of whom receive multiple millions of government funding compared to the Irish Sport Horse industry.

Malahide international sport horse agent Barry O’Connor added: “We are talking about jobs, exports, inward investment.”Several speakers pointed out the need for the industry to present a united front to government.

“We all share the common bond of the Irish horse and it is most important we unite behind this report and don’t start fighting among ourselves. We have been under funded for years,” said one. Other voices raised the untapped tourism potential for horses and the need for bridle paths and a “horse-friendly’’ attitude.

Breeder Tom Brennan of Millhouse Stud, Co Kilkenny, urged other breeders to get together in groups of three or four, approach a rider and club together to buy a top filly foal.

“Do a few embryos out of her from three to five and then you have four or five top class foals from that animal. Top horses can make huge money. One person on their own cannot afford a top class mare anymore. It gives a better return than buying a house. There is a huge return on investment if you do it right.”

Responding to earlier remarks about MHS Going Global’s breeding, “Going Global is as Irish as you can get. I don’t mind if it’s by a Russian horse or an American. I’m as Irish as can be and all we breed is as Irish as can be. Let’s get off our high horses, there is no template to what is a top class horse. Horse are bred by design now not by luck.”