A possible solution to the passport mess?

MADAM,

I, like everyone, am upset by the ‘passport situation’. I wonder if perhaps there may be a solution to overcome the ‘sale and export’ of sport horses from Ireland.

The only bits of the passport that are of interest to customs and vets at the point of departure and arrival are the marking form in the passport and the chip in the animal’s neck, and proof that they are legal. Its breeding is of no interest to anyone except the buyer.

Why not then have HSI photocopy the marking form on the day it arrives in their office, stamp the photocopy as “passport applied for” and the date and return it to the applicant? This would prove that the chip number is legal, and the vet was authorised to sign it off.

The passport could then be forwarded to the buyer when it arrives with the seller. If the auctioneers or the buyer were in need of more information, a copy of the covering cert or a receipt for full payment for the covering and a photocopy of the mare’s passport including the breeding should be enough to ward off ‘scammers’.

I suggest that a call from the Minister to their counterpart in the receiving countries should be sufficient to cover such a plan. This would mean that the foal was saleable within a week of the completion of the marking form and take the pressure off those trying to get the full passport completed. I admit that I am a simple man, but it does seem to me a possible way to go.

Yours etc,

Charlie Ripman

Co Tipperary

‘Situation mismanaged’

MADAM,

I am writing once again to express my deep frustration and concern regarding the ongoing issues with foal passports from Horse Sport Ireland (HSI). This situation has been mismanaged from the start, and it is the small breeders, the very backbone of the Irish sport horse industry, who are bearing the brunt of it.

HSI’s handling of the foal passport delays is just one example of a broader pattern of poor behaviour and lack of transparency. A pattern of deflecting responsibility and distorting the truth has gone down badly within the equestrian community, further eroding trust in HSI.

The ongoing delays in foal passport processing, which HSI has outrageously labelled as “minor” are in fact severe and have left breeders in a precarious situation for months. To dismiss these delays as insignificant is not only disingenuous, but deeply insulting to those whose livelihoods depend on timely registration.

As breeders, we will not stand for being treated like fools. It is time that HSI addresses these issues with the transparency and urgency they deserve. The industry demands honesty and decisive action, not excuses and misdirection. HSI must face the real problems affecting breeders and the wider sport horse community. It is equally troubling that the Minister of Agriculture has failed to take meaningful action on this issue. This is not a trivial matter; it directly impacts the credibility and future of the entire Irish sport horse sector. The government’s passive response has been extremely disappointing.

The small breeders cannot be ignored any longer. This passport debacle, from beginning to end, has been a complete failure, and it is time for both HSI and the Minister of Agriculture to take responsibility and act. I urge my fellow breeders, and anyone else frustrated by these issues, to contact their local TDs and demand that parliamentary questions (PQs) be raised to bring about the necessary changes.

Yours sincerely,

Emily Cooper, Rebecca Guinness and Marnie Crerar

Co Meath