DISILLUSIONED and disappointed are some of the words used by Ireland’s top-tier event riders in these pages this week. They are referring to still – on March 21st – not having any dialogue on when their High Performance manager and team trainers would be announced.

The sad thing I am hearing from these conversations is that owners are fed up with the systems, or lack thereof, in place. That is really bad news for Irish athletes because, just across the sea, there are an array of world class riders from all over the world with comprehensive team support in place.

HSI says the High Performance manager contract is “in progress” and due to be finalised “very soon”. In the meantime, no team training can take place or even be planned. Badminton is just six weeks away and the European Championships take place in the UK later this year. Time is ticking.

Eventing in Ireland is in the middle of a storm at the moment and, for the sake of the riders, owners and all the staff, I hope it blows over soon.

Report

The highly anticipated report by Professor Patrick Wall, well-known in this sector as a former chairman of Horse Sport Ireland, into identification, registration and traceability relating to equines in Ireland, was published this week and it comes down hard on the current operations in place in Ireland surrounding traceability. You can read his findings elsewhere on this page.

Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, and his department have made huge commitments, publishing a 38-point action plan on the back of the report, the vast majority to be implemented in 2025.

It is an ambitious project, but a positive one and we urge all owners, breeders and keepers to stay compliant with your registrations, change of ownerships, recording of deaths and the annual equine census. We all have to play a part in improving equine welfare in the country.