MOVING Horse Sport Ireland’s headquarters from Naas and creating a Centre of Excellence at nearby Greenogue remains very much the focus of the HSI Board, despite vocal opposition from some quarters to the advanced plans.

In the face of three days of debate over the airwaves of local radio station, Kildare FM (see page 87), this week, interim CEO of HSI, Joe Reynolds, declared he was “not taking my foot off the gas” on the multi-million euro project. The heads of a deal have been signed between Horse Sport Ireland and the developer of Greenogue Equestrian Centre, Con McCarthy, whereby McCarthy will build what Horse Sport Ireland requires at his Rathcoole site and HSI will lease it back long-term.

Ahead of a scheduled meeting at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on Monday, with Minister for State and Kildare TD Martin Heydon (FG), and possibly Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue (FF) as well, it’s expected the proposed move will be well aired.

“We will talk to the Ministers on Monday. We have put an awful lot of time and energy into this already. We asked in the last two budgets for money for a centre like this and did not get any. To do what we want, without Greenogue, would cost €11.7 million. Will I walk out of Monday’s meeting with a cheque for €11 million for the sport horse industry? I don’t think so.

“The process with Greenogue is ongoing and it will be signed unless there is another offer. I’m not taking my foot off the gas on this. Kildare County Council, politicians, have been very helpful but came up with no solutions either,” Joe Reynolds told The Irish Field.

“This week’s radio debates were sprinkled with inaccuracies. It is absolutely incorrect to say that Punchestown offered us a free site. What they offered to us was a joint approach to Government for public funding. They did not indicate they were giving us a free site or would pay for what we wanted. What they did say was they had bought land, near the pits at Walshtown, closer to Eadestown than Punchestown – a long way off from the Punchestown complex, car park and facilities.

“It’s also not correct to say that we were offered all the ‘kit’ at the former Kill International Equestrian Centre for free – some of it funded by taxpayers’ money and idle for years – as was said in the Seanad. We looked into that ourselves and it would actually cost us between €600,000 and €700,000 to have it taken down and re-erected, again hugely costly.

“We are not doing this for our own glorification. We are doing this for the industry and the sport. We have spent well over €3 million renting office space at Millennium Park alone – on top of that we have to spend money on storage for signs and trailers as well as the transport of it. We can bring all of this together in Greenogue. It is doable. Greenogue makes good business logic and I have a mandate from the Board to proceed,” added Reynolds.

Amid ongoing claims of non-consultation about the project, Reynolds rejected this saying: “there is a small group that is not happy – some centres are not happy, some eventing figures are not happy and some unnamed affiliates – I don’t know who these are – are apparently not happy to move. This plan has been on the HSI books for years. For our 2019 Strategic Plan for example, we went to stakeholders about a proposed Centre of Excellence and got about 50 written submissions. People were consulted. Some centres that are saying they were not consulted were consulted.

“We are delighted if the affiliates want to come with us, we have allowed for them in terms of desk space. I don’t know of any affiliates that said different. Asides from everything else, we will also have a three-furlong all-weather track at Greenogue which will be very useful for fitness work for the eventers.”

Asked about Abbotstown as a possible option for further equestrian facilities, Reynolds said they also held extensive discussions with the sports campus. However, further development of this nature is not aligned to the future plans of Abbotstown which are expected to be unveiled in coming months.

Centre viewpoint

Speaking on Kildare FM yesterday (Friday), Chris Byrne of Coilog Equestrian said: “There is quite a broad spectrum of the industry not consulted, this is being rail-roaded ahead. This is not required, not needed. HSI does not need to get involved in managing dungsteads, hay sheds or car parks. Their core business is not running an equestrian centre.

“Where is the business plan on this, where is the costings on this, where is the feasibility studies? This is an liaison with an equestrian centre... it should be going to tender. They don’t have this in England, Belgium or Holland. We would gladly give our input but no-one has been consulted. You’d be surprised to find how many would pitch for this – we would like an equal opportunity to pitch for this.”