MADAM,

It was disappointing to see the comment in last week’s The Irish Field of Professor Patrick Wall, that ‘the horse industry in Ireland has brought a lot of grief on the food industry and the Government will not allow the horse industry to wreck the food industry.’

We all remember 11 years ago when Ireland and mainland Europe was rocked by one of the biggest food scandals to ever emerge, when the discovery of horsemeat in what was labelled as beef by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) was shown to be the tip of the iceberg on an international fraud that seriously disrupted supply chains across the Continent. Whilst food companies, including some of Europe’s biggest processors, contributed to it by mismanagement and poor quality control, it was exacerbated by poor regulation.

Sadly, poor regulation too of the Shannonside abattoir by the Department of Agriculture, has resulted in mistreatment and cruelty of both sport horses and thoroughbreds alike.

It behoves us all to strive for an equine industry that ensures the welfare of all equines is paramount.

Yours etc,

Peter O’Reilly

CEO

Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association CLG

A great big thank you

MADAM,

Newcastle West Show moved to a new venue in 2022, which is just outside the town. Having fallen foul to the weather in 2023, in 2024 we held our annual show on the new date of June 23rd and this year the weather gods were on our side, as we were greeted by sunshine and blue skies for the day.

This new date also gave us the opportunity to welcome the wonderful Susan Finnerty to our show, her second visit in a fortnight, as she also made the trip down nine days previously for the three-year-old Potential Event Horse Qualifier for the RDS, held by kind permission of Terence Leonard at his Ballynoe Castle Farm. We are so grateful for the wonderful coverage that Susan and The Irish Field gave to Newcastle West Show, as well as her articles on the many living legends who are based in Limerick, which were published in the lead up to the show.

We are most grateful to all who make the show day possible: our loyal sponsors, land owners, judges, exhibitors, the public who come out to support us and also the huge amount of stewards and volunteers who give their time so generously to ensure that everything runs smoothly and that all are fed and watered.

We are delighted with the extensive coverage we have received and we want to say a huge ‘Thank you’ to all in The Irish Field for making this happen.

Yours etc,

Newcastle West Show Committee