MANY of us experienced our first joy of riding at a local riding school or holiday trekking centre but the spiralling cost of insurance, combined with Ireland’s notorious ‘compo claims’ culture is now posing a very real risk to that very foundation - and one which will have enormous consequences for the entire Irish equestrian landscape if it continues unabated. Countless riding schools and trekking centres have closed their doors in recent years and ready access to lessons or trekking simply cannot be taken for granted anymore.

Long waiting lists exist in many of the remaining riding schools as a result. Some operators are put to the pin of their collar to keep the gates open due to the huge cost of the only-offer insurance premium coming through the postbox.

Access to and participation in leisure and sporting activities should be a choice that is available to all, regardless of a person’s location or the depth of their pocket.

Ireland is known - and promoted - across the world over for horses and horsemanship - it would be a crying shame if action is not taken now to protect our network of riding schools and trekking centres from the inherent threats it faces.

Dublin Horse Show

The launch took place on Tuesday of Dublin Horse Show, Ireland’s only five-star Show (August 9th-13th). It was encouraging to see senior government Minister at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD (FF), attend as his presence signals his Department’s acknowledgment of the importance of Ireland’s equine industry, sport horse and thoroughbred, to the country, bringing in billions of euro each year to the Central Exchequer and accounting for some 50,00 full-time jobs and hundreds of thousands of part-time jobs across the landscape of rural Ireland. Let’s all hope the message from AIRE on the insurance crisis is heard by Government and the sporting powers that be.