EVENTING Ireland entry fees will increase by €5/£5 for the 2018 season, the organisation announced today (Monday).

This announcement comes following recent meetings with event organisers and the board of Eventing Ireland.

The press release read: “This is due to the increased running costs for an event and it will go directly to the event organiser. It has become more and more difficult for an event to run without losing money. Rather than losing events, it is necessary to increase entry fees to keep our events on the calendar and to maintain the standards required to ensure our members are competing on the best possible tracks.”

Eventing Ireland chairman David O’Meara said: “As an event organiser, I understand the pressures and costs involved to consistently provide the best tracks for our athletes at all levels. It is not sustainable for some venues to continue to hold events so the addition in entry fees is one way to ensure we maintain our list of top class venues and to maintain and improve current standards.”

Eventing Ireland have contributed €14,000 to the regions to improve course development for 2018 and members will see further improvements to cross country venues in the coming months.

As part of the Eventing Ireland safety initiatives, the Course Designer Accreditation programme was rolled out in 2017 and the following candidates were accredited:

Name Level / Grade

Sam Deverell List B CNC2*

Dereck Hamilton List B CNC2*

Clive Corrigan List B CNC2*

Luke Drea List B CNC2*

Dominic Furnell List B Restricted CNC2*

Ger Furnell List C Restricted CNC1*

David O’Meara List C Restricted CNC1*

Ciaran Glynn List C Restricted CNC1*

Further accreditations will take place this year.

In addition, Sam Deverell and Dereck Hamilton successfully completed the FEI Course Designer Level 1*/2* course.

The press release continued: “Eventing Ireland acknowledges eventing is not a cheap sport, however, with the continued use of ERQI’s, the accreditation of course designers, course development improvements and subsidised breakable devices for our events, safety at any level cannot be compromised.”