THE departure of Ronan Murphy after three years as CEO of Horse Sport Ireland was announced yesterday morning (Friday) while the organisation stressed it was very much ‘business as usual’ at the Naas-based headquarters.

Shortly after 11am, Horse Sport Ireland announced that CEO Ronan Murphy had left the organisation “to pursue academic interests and other opportunities.”

The Irish Field has been informed that an interim panel of chairman of Horse Sport Ireland Joe Reynolds, head of finance John Moran and head of sport and legal Avalon Everett will be at the helm of Horse Sport Ireland until a suitable replacement is appointed as leader.

HSI chairman Joe Reynolds said yesterday: “It is business as usual at Horse Sport Ireland. Myself, Avalon and John will act in the role in the interim. We are not going to take off the pressure, all of our programmes and projects will be carried out as usual at Horse Sport Ireland. We have spoken to the Departments (Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Sport) and our sponsors and there is a huge amount of goodwill towards the organisation.

“All of our staff have been informed and reassured, those in the building and those working from home, it is business as usual here. All programmes and projects are ongoing and we will continue to grow. We will keep going in the right direction.

“There is a huge amount going on in our industry. Despite Covid-19 and the trauma it has brought, it is very important to get our industry back on track.

“And there is a lot of positives. We can see that in the interest in the sport horse sales, horses are being sold to America and Europe. There is plenty of activity going on. Breeders need that and deserve to be supported. Michael Blake (chef d’equipe of Irish show jumping senior team) is working hard with our show jumping teams who just had a Nations Cup win. At home, Horse Sport Ireland is also putting a lot of money into the development series in eventing, dressage and show jumping.”

Official HSI statement

IN yesterday’s HSI statement, outgoing CEO Ronan Murphy said: “I have enjoyed leading Horse Sport Ireland and the significant achievements delivered over the last three years. I am especially proud of the work done in implementing the Indecon recommendations, restructuring the organisation, developing our strategic plan and establishing a new cohesive business approach across the Irish sport horse industry. A particular highlight was the historic qualification of our three senior teams for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Strong foundations are now in place and I would like to especially thank the staff at HSI and our key stakeholders in DAFM and Sport Ireland for their support and collaboration during my tenure. I look forward to seeing the Irish Sport Horse industry achieve its full potential and Irish riders and horses being rightly recognised as the very best in the world.”

Chairman of Horse Sport Ireland, Joe Reynolds, paid tribute to the outgoing CEO and his contribution to the organisation: “On behalf of the Board, I wish to thank Ronan for his work over the past three years and his contribution to the organisation and indeed the sector. During his tenure, the key stakeholders we represent saw many successes across the global stage, both in respect of Irish Sport Horse Breeding and Equestrian High Performance. The Sport Horse Sector has significant potential and continues to grow at exponential rate. The Board of Horse Sport Ireland will ensure its stewardship of the organisation continues to play a key role in opening up new opportunities and horizons for the sector. We wish Ronan all the best and every success in his future.”

June 2017: HSI announces Mr Ronan Murphy as the new CEO June 1st, replacing Damian McDonald. He joined HSI from Makeway Ltd, a Waterford-based agri-technology supply company and before that was the CEO of Weatherbys Ireland. The Indecon report into Horse Sport Ireland was published by Minister Michael Creed TD on June 27th.

August 2017: Ronan Murphy began the job as CEO on the week of the 2017 Dublin Horse Show, and one of his first engagements was attending The Irish Field’s breakfast briefing.

September 2018: Joe Reynolds was appointed Chairman of Horse Sport Ireland. New board of HSI was appointed and reduced from 19 to nine, as recommended by Indecon. HSI announce they have implemented all the recommendations of Indecon ahead of the Budget 2019 submission.

August 2019: Ronan Murphy, alongside Joe Reynolds, launched HSI’s Strategic Plan (2019-2024) on the eve of the Dublin Horse Show.

September 2020: Murphy, Reynolds and Barry O’Connor met with Senator Timmy Dooley to discuss the sector on Tuesday, September 8th. On Friday, Horse Sport Ireland announces Murphy’s departure.