BARELY has the ink dried on this page, then the global prices of key inputs such as grain and fuel have hiked yet again and they will continue to rise throughout 2022.

What’s certain for stakeholders in our €816 million Irish Sport Horse Industry is that it’s never been more important to strategically manage your grassland resources this year of all years. Putin’s terrible war in Ukraine will continue to cast its unwelcome long shadow for a considerable time to come for us all. We will have to carefully utilise all our available resources to their very maximum.

Early attention paid to grassland management, particularly as the new grass begins to come in from now, and taking steps towards sustainability on your enterprise, small or large, will yield particularly valuable dividends for the 15,000 estimated sport horse breeders across the 32 counties. Thinking ahead, being aware and prepared will help control the inevitable ever-increasing cost increases that will characterise this year’s bottom line for businesses and households alike.

Maximise ‘the rub of the green’ in your fields through careful management; acquaint yourself with, and take advantage of, every possible equine/breeding grant as well as any sustainability grants available to your home and enterprise this year in a bid to rebalance the books.

On the international competition circuit, elite Irish-bred horses continue to shine with a string of top-drawer results on the ultra competitive sport horse scene in the USA, Canada and Europe. Here at home, despite the ravages of Covid over the last two years, trade for Irish horses and ponies again enjoyed an exceptional year in 2021 in our key markets of Britain, North America and Europe, reflected at the rostrum in Goresbridge, Cavan, Mullingar and Clifden. The extra injection of online bidding opened the virtual gates of the industry bearing fruitful results for canny breeders, producers, riders and owners alike.

Horses in our national DNA

Horses are in our national DNA as a people but it is important to recognise that overall, our industry is also quite far from reaching its full potential with competitor studbooks ever gaining ground. Endeavouring to improve the genetic merit of your horses and ponies, backed by science, is what is advocated by industry experts.

The old adage of ‘breed the best to the best and hope for the best’ rings true. Today breeders and owners can also utilise genomic breeding values to take some of the guesswork out of trying to eliminate undesirable inheritable traits such as OCD from their foals. Use all the available data that is out there to your best advantage. You can’t beat visiting stallions in the flesh either where possible, to see if they would suit your mares. Talk to stallion-keepers, riders and producers to gather as much information as possible.

Welcome to our bumper 40-page Stallions Guide - our biggest ever from our hard-working team - every good wish for your 2022 breeding season.