Caitriona Murphy

QATARI buyers inspected 20 Irish horses in Mullingar on Tuesday as potential horses for its police force, it has been revealed.

All 20 horses were assembled by the Irish Horse Gateway and were ridden by a Qatari coach to assess their suitability for use in the force and on parade duties.

Several of the horses on offer have now been short-listed by the Qatari buyers and will be compared to offerings from sellers in Northern Ireland, Britain and continental Europe.

Horse Sport Ireland’s Mark Bolger confirmed that the horses were a mixture of Irish Draught and Irish Sport Horses and were assembled on foot of a sales enquiry that was generated in the aftermath of a trade mission to the Middle East last year.

Bolger and the Irish Horse Gateway are also currently compiling a portfolio of 140 horses for Chinese clients on foot of enquiries at last month’s China Horse Fair.

“In the main these buyers are looking for quality, good-looking all-rounder horses that will show jump at 1m-1.10m level and have good flatwork,” he explained. “However we have a Chinese customer flying into Ireland next week who has received a portfolio of higher level show jumpers, horses competing at national Grand Prix level, jumping from 1.30m to 1.50m.”

Speaking at the Irish Horse Board AGM on Wednesday night, Bolger said the biggest potential market in China was for good-looking all-rounders that were well produced on the flat, working in an outline and easily jumping up to 1.20m.

“They will pay between €40,000 and €50,000 for that type of animal,” he said. “That is an economic prospect for Irish producers if they can give them the product they want.”

Transport to China typically costs €8,500 to €9,000 for a bulk number of horses to the Shanghai and Beijing region, with quarantine in Ireland.

“For horses that are performing at a higher level, you are talking about prices north of €50,000,” he added. “I see great opportunities to develop the Irish trade to China but we need footfall of all types in the country to create relationships. The fact that Irish Horse Gateway is seen as a government-approved body is a huge advantage.”