IN positive news for the High Performance programme at Horse Sport Ireland, Irish Horse World understands that Michael Blake has signed a new contract, which will see him continue as Irish team show jumping chef d’equipe and High Performance director.

The first senior Nations Cup of the year takes place in Sharjah, UAE, later this month and, staying in the middle east, the first round of the all-important Longines League of Nations kicks off in Abu Dhabi from February 11th to 15th.

Eventing

The closing date for the senior eventing High Performance manager was Thursday, January 8th. That role has been vacant now since the end of October and, in another important championship year, it will be good to see it filled sooner rather than later to allow for efficient planning for athletes. Interestingly, the job description included ‘oversight of the young rider pathways’ too, which leads to questions about possible changes to the underage programmes.

Sources understood that among the mooted changes to the underage programmes would be the selection process. However, it remains to be seen if that will happen. Horse Sport Ireland declined to comment on questions asked by Irish Horse World this week as to any changes and any timelines for appointments of managers, or not.

Our underage teams and athletes are the envy of the rest of the world, winning multiple medals across show jumping and eventing every year.

Applications for the dressage High Performance manager and the para dressage High Performance manager roles close on Monday, January 13th.

Also this week, HSI advertised the positions of youth horse eventing team manager and youth horse show jumping team managers. Both roles are a consultancy agreement contract, until October 31st 2027. Applications close on at 12 noon on February 5th 2025.