Bernard Byrne laid to rest

THE funeral took place recently of Bernard Byrne, from Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. A hugely popular character, the former National Hunt jockey was a gifted producer of young horses, having started his trade in Séamus McGrath’s racing yard. In recent years, Bernard was a familiar sight at Irish showrings, following the successes of his daughter Alicia Devlin-Byrne. One of Bernard’s proudest moments was Alicia and Blackwood Fernando’s win at the Horse of the Year Show in 2021. He was as equally supportive to other exhibitors, always having a friendly word of encouragement and his quick wit and advice will be fondly remembered by many.

Bernard will be greatly missed by his wife Claire, daughter Alicia, family and wide circle of friends. His funeral service took place at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Enniskerry with burial afterwards at Deans Grange Cemetery. A full tribute will appear in a future issue.

Breeding Grant and Studbook Series applications closing next week

APPLICATIONS are open for the 2024 Breeding Grant Scheme. In 2023, this scheme supported over 60 shows/breeding events nationwide. Head to the Horse Sport Ireland website for details and to complete the online application. The deadline for submission is 2pm, Wednesday, January 10th.

Horse Sport Ireland has also opened the venue applications to host the show jumping section of the studbook series and development series. Applications for this can also be made online. The deadline for submission is noon on Monday, January 8th.

Stallion Selections 2024

THE Irish Sport Horse, Irish Sport Pony and Irish Draught Horse studbook Stallion Selections will be taking place in Cavan Equestrian Centre on March 21st and 22nd. Terms and conditions are available on the Horse Sport Ireland website, and prospective applicants are encouraged to read them before applying online. These applications will operate on an early bird basis, with early bird applications closing on January 10th, 2024. Thereafter, the application fee will increase and applications close on the January 31st.

Flexi eventing and training leagues

RUN by the Northern Region of Eventing Ireland, the annual Baileys Horse Feeds flexi eventing series at The Meadows commences next Saturday, January 13th. The series, which is open to everyone, will run each week until Saturday, February 24th, (prize-giving day) with points being awarded for performance, as well as attendance in the six weeks up to and including Saturday, February 17th. For further details see the Eventing Ireland Northern Region Facebook page or The Meadows’ website.

The Western Region is also staging a combined training league at Milchem Equestrian Centre, which gets underway next Sunday, January 14th. The league will continue on January 21st and February 4th, with the final on February 11th.