Hurdles remain for Horse Sport Ireland after boardroom fallout last year

At every opportunity where executives from Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) have rubbed shoulders with Government Ministers recently, the national governing body for equestrian sports has been keen to press the need for more funding.

The organisation has stepped up efforts to lobby Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, his advisers and department officials, for an increase to the amount the organisation receives from the State.

It has been nearly a year since a major boardroom controversy blew up at the governing body for sports such as showjumping, dressage and eventing.

A fallout between board members led to a string of resignations and eventually saw the entire board resign, leading Mr McConalogue to appoint an interim board last November, which remains in place today.

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The former directors were split over the performance of HSI chief executive Denis Duggan, as well as a controversial decision to sue its largest funder, the Department of Agriculture.

HSI commenced and later dropped judicial review proceedings against the department’s decision to award a State contract to the Irish Horse Board (IHB), a membership organisation for horse breeders. HSI had previously been funded to provide these services, namely the promotion of the equestrian sport industry.

Senior staff in the organisation were deeply unhappy when it emerged that the contract, believed to be worth upwards of €3 million, had been won by the IHB, one of more than 20 affiliate horse sport organisations that come under the governance of HSI. The contract gave the IHB a new lease of life.

However, a senior source in the equestrian sector said there has since been “visible tension” between the organisations.

“It is a little like when there’s a new baby and the first child doesn’t like that the new child has arrived and taken one of its toys,” the person said.

The tensions have been heightened by the fact that a number of staff who left the governing body have since joined the IHB.

Alison Corbally, HSI’s former director of breeding services, was appointed director general of the IHB in April, while Nadia Rea, once an assistant breeding manager at HSI, was hired as the board’s operations manager in August.

Internal records show that HSI has since turned to the department and sought a €1.5 million increase in funding for next year, which would bring the total to €5.9 million.

In a July 19th briefing note for Mr McConalogue, department officials said the request would represent a “significant” increase. Officials said any funding boost would need to be “very strongly justified”, such as being tied to inflationary costs.

The briefing note, released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act, said it was “imperative” that HSI and IHB work better together as there was “concern that such collaboration is not being optimised”.

In a July 17th email, another official said that when it came to funding the “bottom line” was that HSI had signed contracts to provide a range of services for set amounts.

“I don’t see scope for changing this,” the official wrote.

When budget day came earlier this month, HSI was likely to be disappointed. A department spokeswoman said funding allocated to HSI and the IHB had been increased by €250,000 for next year.

There has also been serious friction with another one of HSI’s main affiliate organisations, Showjumping Ireland.

The organisation withheld €100,000 in funding for 2022 from HSI for a considerable period, one source said. The funds were eventually released after Showjumping Ireland received a detailed breakdown of how the money would be spent.

Recently filed financial accounts show the current directors of HIS expressed “significant concerns regarding the fragile state” of the organisation’s balance sheet.

The 2022 accounts said HSI was dealing with “increased spending over successive years, declining cash reserves, and uncertainties surrounding future revenue streams”.

The organisation reported a €100,000 deficit last year, with the accounts noting it was very dependent on funding from the department and its other public funder, Sport Ireland.

The timing of when grant funds came through created a “significant challenge for the business to continue”, directors warned.

One big point of tension in the sector is proposed changes to how the board of HSI would be made up. While the Minister appoints several directors, four spots on the board were previously reserved for representatives from its affiliates’ advisory councils.

HSI has proposed to fill the four board seats through an “open call process” with applicants coming from affiliate organisations or the wider equestrian sector. Directors would be chosen by an independent panel, with former board members of HSI ineligible to put themselves forward for consideration.

In a June 21st letter to Mr McConalogue and other politicians, Showjumping Ireland, Dressage Ireland and Para Equestrian Ireland said they had “serious concerns” regarding HSI.

The three affiliates said changes being pushed by the governing body would be “damaging” to the sector. The letter stated that the level of “practical and constructive interaction” between HSI and the organisations had “deteriorated significantly”.

“We are deeply troubled by the manner in which Horse Sport Ireland have been acting and forming policy over the last number of months,” they wrote.

The three equestrian bodies called for “an immediate review into the actions and management” of HSI, which they said was operating with a “visible lack” of essential industry expertise.

In what one source described as a chance to start rebuilding fractured trust, the current board of HSI met representatives of affiliates and other industry figures on Friday.

In a statement, HSI said it was “actively working to further strengthen our collaborative relationship” with the IHB.

It said that proposed reforms to how several of its board members are appointed underscored its dedication to “sound governance”.

“HSI remains committed to transparency, collaboration, and the advancement of the sport horse industry in Ireland.”