Setting the record straight

Madam,

I WISH to refer to a letter from Mr/Ms J Barry about the Irish Horse Board Elections in last week’s edition of Irish Horse World. Given the seriousness of the allegations and the inaccuracy of the letter, one can only begin to question the motivation/motivators of this letter. While the elections will be concluded by the time this letter is published, it is necessary to set the record straight.

The Irish Horse Board and Horse Sport Ireland are two separate and independent companies, each with their own rules and regulations. To make a claim of potential voting irregularities is a very serious claim, if it were not so incredulous, how can there be voting irregularities in advance of voting? The claim that many did not receive a proper nomination form, seems to suggest that there were two types of nomination form issued? Of course, this is simply not true.

Yes, it is true that a wide swath of members had no ballot paper, this is because they are not entitled to vote in accordance with the Irish Horse Board rules. It is no longer possible under GDPR to distribute the list of members. Even if a list was distributed, it would not be of any great use, unless it identified those entitled to vote.

Why would a person ring Horse Sport Ireland about an Irish Horse Board election? Unless of course they had no proper understanding of the elections. If is unbelievable that the Irish Horse Board or the returning firm would refer any caller to another company about their own business. It would be very easy to verify or refute this claim with both companies.

Irish Horse Board rules state that only those who have paid their annual membership before the 31st May are entitled to,

1. Be Nominated for election as a Director of Horse Sport Ireland for their Region.

2. To nominate a qualified person for election as a Directorship of Horse Sport Ireland in their Region.

3. To vote for a duly Nominated person in their Region.

These rules are very simple and clear, democratically put in place by the members at an AGM.

Mr/Ms J Barry does not say if they are a member of the Irish Horse Board, as they are quoting from other people’s correspondence then he/she is obviously not eligible to vote in these elections. It would appear that the basis for the claims of “shambolic elections” is totally anecdotal and in itself totally shambolic.

As a member who has consistently attended Irish Horse Board AGMs over the years, I can categorically say that the alleged concerned members have not attended these AGMs, where they could have an input into the Irish Horse Board. It is patently obvious that the author has no knowledge or understanding of Irish Horse Board rules. All of which brings me back to my opening paragraph, who, why, what is the motivation of this claim of a “shambolic election”.

Yours etc,

Kevin Croke

IHB Member – Region 1