IRISH Horse World editor Isabel Hurley and journalist Judith Faherty combined to write the main piece in the issue of February 12th under the headline ‘Key studbooks included among DAFM tenders’.

There was little in the article to indicate how divisive this subject would become and, in fact, more emphasis was laid on the continuing effect of Brexit (a topic regularly raised in these pages) and the importance of the Northern Ireland protocol for breeders in the region.

Also covered in this issue were the equine census and the new European Union veterinary medicine regulations aimed at tackling antimicrobial resistance.

We learned more of the studbook tenders on April 2nd when Faherty reported on a poorly attended AGM of the Irish Horse Board in Mullingar. ‘At a meeting on the 3rd of March, it was agreed that the Horse Board will apply for the tender; the closing date for tenders is the 21st of April,’ commented IHD chairman, Tiernan Gill.

Unofficially known at the end of September, it was confirmed the following month that the IHB had been awarded the tender for the provision of Marketing Services for the sport horse sector while HSI had retained the studbooks and the National Breeding Services. HSI immediately filed Judicial Review proceedings to the DAFM’s decision to award the Marketing Services tender to IHB but this was dropped in December.

On hearing this, closing comments from Gill in the issue of December 10th read: ‘“We have a lot of passionate members and we want to work on their behalf and we want to work with HSI as well. We are there to work on the breeding and production of horses. That’s what we want to do and things have never been better and that’s not being highlighted enough.

‘“There is a lot of good things happening. We are available to sit down with Horse Sport Ireland any time.”’

We had a good idea that no sitting down took place when Gill was asked to comment about the new pricing structure for HSI’s Studbook and Registration Services which were scheduled to come into effect from January 1st, inclusive of 23% VAT. ‘Significantly,’ wrote Hurley in the issue of December 24th, ‘discounts previously in place for members of the Irish Horse Board will be discontinued from that date along with discounts for other membership structures, including the Northern Ireland Horse Board.’

Having expressed his disappointment with the price increases and the erosion of breeders’ benefits, Gill stated: ‘“I wish to confirm that unfortunately this pricing structure was implemented by HSI without consultation or discussion with the mandated breeders representatives within Horse Sport Ireland. The IHB have called an urgent meeting to discuss the impact on breeders and will raise the breeders deep concerns with the appropriate channels.”’

HSI’s CEO Denis Duggan gave detailed reasons for the increases, starting off with the following statement. ‘“This is our first change in pricing for the last 17 years ... This is about making sure we can run a sustainable business and our business model must reflect this.”’

While the same photograph was used, Gill somehow looked even more annoyed in the final Irish Horse World of the year alongside an article by Hurley which ran under the heading ‘HSI loosens ties with IHB further’. This was in relation to the following which appeared under the Irish Horse Board section on the HSI website towards the end of December.

Horse Sport Ireland no longer process IHB Membership applications from January 1st. Horse Sport Ireland also no longer provides discounts on passport registration costs. As the Irish Horse Board is a separate entity to Horse Sport Ireland, any IHB shareholder should contact the Irish Horse Board with any queries relating to their individual membership.