MORE than €6.5m of exchequer funding has been allocated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for the breeding and production side of the sport horse industry for 2026, up from €5.2m in 2025.

The increase does not, however, reflect a change in the amounts allocated to Horse Sport Ireland and The Irish Horse Board for delivering breeding and marketing initiatives. These remain static with the National Equine Breeding Services delivered by Horse Sport Ireland being allocated €4.4m (€1.5m operational ex VAT, plus €2.9m in breeding initiatives) and the National Equine Marketing Services delivered by the Irish Horse Board being allocated, as in 2025, €800,000 excluding VAT.