INCREASED red tape, paperwork, higher retail costs and delays in transporting horses overseas are among fears voiced here this week ahead of Britain’s crucial Brexit vote next Thursday.

As Britain prepares for the vote billed as the most important in the country’s history in decades, major players in the Irish equestrian scene gave their opinions on what consequences a UK vote to leave the European Union might have here.

Britain is Ireland’s strongest overseas market. A strong sterling has been a significant factor helping to fuel prices at the Irish sport horse sales in recent years.

Stuart Clarke of Cavan Equestrian Centre told The Irish Field: “There are a couple of problems if the UK does decide to leave the EU, the first one being the currency might decline and the buying power will be a bit weaker. The second thing is the amount of paperwork that may be put in place to export to a non-EU country. There will be a lot more red tape in place, it will be much more time consuming and could be more expensive. At the moment, trucks can leave almost immediately to deliver horses and that may all change. About 75% of the buyers coming here (to Cavan Sales) are from the UK, which is huge. It will be much easier if they decide to remain. The bottom line is they are still going to want Irish-bred horses and they will still buy them.”

Carol Gee of Fernhill Sport Horses, Co Kilkenny, commented: “It will make importing equestrian products and tack from Britain more expensive. I think the horse trade is going to remain pretty stable. I think entry fees to events will remain the same but Brexit will be a nuisance when trying to attend the events. It will prevent travelling at short notice, owners will have to be organised further in advance so that their horses have clearance to travel. It will cause a lot of frustration.

“When selling horses, I would often explain to buyers that we can have the horse vetted and transported quickly. If Brexit goes ahead, we will no longer be able to use a quick turnaround time as a selling point. A number of people have asked me what I would vote if I still lived in Britain - I would vote to stay.”

Padraic Heanue of Connemara Pony Sales, Clifden, said: “I suppose the biggest problem will be if the sterling falls and the prices aren’t as attractive to our English buyers. However, I do think they are still going to buy the ponies, we are not very worried at the moment. The export side of things might also change, there is talk of borders and there is no doubt they will be changes long-term if they decide to leave.”

Meanwhile, spokesperson for the Equine Council of Northern Ireland, Geoff Cannon, commented: “I believe the whole thing is over-hyped, we are being bombarded by scaremongers from both sides about different scenarios. But, the reality is we haven’t been told any facts, we are in the dark and we don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s quite frustrating. Racing in the North of Ireland is governed by Horse Racing Ireland and the Turf Club so it won’t have an impact on racing and stopping at the border wasn’t that big of a deal, you show your documents and on you go. If we do vote to leave the EU, it’s going to take three to five years to sort out so it’s very difficult to give an opinion on something when it’s so far off.”