A LIFELINE is being proactively thrown to the €816 million Irish sport horse industry by the three major auction houses in the business – Goresbridge, Cavan Equestrian and Mullingar Equestrian Sales – with the submission of joint draft protocols to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Let’s all hope that their bid, backed up by Horse Sport Ireland, is a winning one because the lifeblood of the entire sport horse industry relies on healthy and transparent trading of Irish-bred horses and ponies, at all levels. Breeders and vendors need a reliable outlet for their stock – in turn, the market needs a ready supply of quality animals.