I LEFT the Keadeen Hotel on Thursday with a pep in my step. Having chaired the plenary session of the Equine Summit, I had a real sense of a new collaborative mood among members of both the thoroughbred and sport horse sectors. I hope that my instinct was correct.

At this stage of my life I could perhaps be forgiven if my views on many matters were a little more cynical than they would have been in the past. I will admit that while I welcomed the concept of the Equine Summit, I was perhaps not expecting as much to come from it as others did. Now that it is over, I do feel a real sense of renewal.

The next step is to build on that feel-good factor. Talking about the issues and challenges that face our greater equine family is ‘fine and dandy’ – as our friends across the Atlantic might say. What we do about them is quite another, and it needs strong leadership within our industries to drive reform. It also needs tons of diplomacy!

Some of the challenges and threats were outlined at the conference, and I was delighted that the main speakers did not shy away from talking about these matters. We can get together on occasions like this and engage in mutual back-slapping, telling each other how great we are.

Yes, we are a great nation and we have a proud tradition and history in both the thoroughbred and sport horse spheres.

However, reputation and history are not enough in the competitive racing, performance and breeding worlds. We have to be forward-looking, embracing technology and science. We must also have an open mind, and be willing to adapt and to change.

The challenges and threats are many, and some of them are relevant to both sectors of the equine world. Funding, human capital and welfare issues all rank high on the list and were mentioned time and again by speakers.

Undermining or ignoring any of them could do serious harm to our livelihoods and we must be vigilant at all times to make sure this does not happen.

Brexit is looming as a potentially catastrophic threat, and more and more it appears that preparations need to be in place for a worst-case scenario. Whatever our desires might be to work harmoniously with our near neighbours, our wish could be steamrolled by political leaders with much bigger fish to fry.