DIRECTOR of Teagasc, Prof. Gerry Boyle, welcomed all to the Teagasc National Equine Conference at the Castletroy Park Hotel on Thursday, including guests from Ireland, the UK, Belgium and The Netherlands.

“We have a very welcome diverse set of topics today. Last year a very important report was produced by Alison Corbally of Horse Sport Ireland and UCD’s Dr Alan Fahey, summarising the economic value of the Irish sport horse industry which is worth €816m to the Irish economy. And we also have the highest density of horses in Europe at 135,000 in the country. We have 15,000 active breeders, providing 14,000 full-time job equivalents,” said Boyle.

Acknowledging the industry as being of “vital importance to the social and rural importance of the country as well as part of our heritage”, Boyle paid tribute to the breeders who delivered “such a great year at Kentucky, Burghley and Badmington” with Irish-bred horses scooping the top honours.

Mentioning the success of Irish-breds at the WBFSH World Breeding Championships and the fact that the Irish eventing studbook claimed the world eventing title yet again, Boyle said that the “standout success stories was the qualification of our three teams for Tokyo – show jumping, eventing and dressage.”

Underlining the importance of strategy, Boyle said: “Strategy is all about identifying the trends and acting in a pro-active way. The Reaching New Heights report (2015-2025) provides a road map for the sector up to 2025. There is a lot in this strategy that remains to be implemented and is very relevant to the sector.

“I’m happy to say that some of the recommendations have been progressed. I’m particularly pleased that the Knowledge Transfer Programme has been delivered to about 300 participants over the last three years. Teagasc very strongly advocated this based on our success in other areas.”

Commenting on the National Equestrian Education Pathway, which is in the pipeline, led by the RDS, supported by Horse Sport Ireland and Teagasc, Boyle said: “I passionately believe that education is vital. I think funding will be found if the direction is correct for the industry. The key strategic leader for the future has to be our breeding sector, based on science. I say this because I can point to the hugely strong sectors like dairy that have progressed on the back of solid science and a cost benefit ratio of close to 20:1. I’m convinced we can do this in the equine sector as well.”

Boyle paid tribute to all the speakers involved in the conference, singling out Teagasc equine specialist and chief conference organiser Wendy Conlon who put a great programme together.