THE famous Spitting Image skit of The Iron Lady that was the late former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher sitting down to dinner with her ever cowed officials came sharply into mind yesterday.

Cue the waiter deferentially asking the formidable one as she sat down to dinner with her entourage, ‘And what about the vegetables?’, to which the exasperated PM shot back, ‘Oh, they’ll have the same’!

Vegetables are set to reclaim their original spot in the Walled Garden at historic Abbotstown House. The Walled Garden will revert to being a kitchen garden and arguably, perhaps it should always have remained in situ.

However, the stunning equestrian arena, with its top class surface, will be removed under an ambitious masterplan to further develop the Dublin campus. After a decade in its prime location, the bulldozers are set to take out the peaceful - and popular - Horse Sport Arena from its sheltered, quiet haven at the heart of the showpiece campus.

Masterplan vision

Perhaps there will be another place found for equestrian sports in the fabulous masterplan vision for the future development of the national sports campus. However, we did not spot it in the plan’s overview if there is such a relocation plan. We need an Iron Lady or Iron Man to bat for us.

Let’s all hope that equestrian sports will not just be quietly airbrushed out of our national sporting landscape.

Ours is a vibrant industry as well as a sport – worth nearly a billion euros a year to the country’s economy and providing thousands of sustainable jobs nationwide.

It begs the question of the powers that be, just who is fighting for our sport’s rightful place in the national scene – who is making sure equestrian’s collective bowl is filled?

Is equestrian sports even at the proverbial table?