Nine of the country's top showjumpers are due to attend a meeting with the equestrian authorities today in an effort to break the deadlock that has seen Ireland drop to last place in the Samsung Super League and facing the prospect of relegation to the second division next season.
Jessica Kürten, Cian O'Connor and Harry Marshall, the three riders at the centre of the recent controversy over team selection, have all said they will attend the meeting in Dublin airport this afternoon. Others expected to attend are Billy Twomey, Robert Splaine, Marie Burke, Dermott Lennon, Kevin Babington and Army rider Capt Shane Carey.
The meeting was called by the Show Jumpers' Club and all 14 riders who have competed on Super League teams this season have been invited.
Representatives of showjumping's two main governing bodies, the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) and the Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI), as well as members of the SJAI's international affairs committee which handles team selection, were also asked to attend.
EFI president Avril Doyle and secretary general Dan Butler are expected, along with the SJAI's director general, Robert Joyce, and national chairman Charles Hanley. Taylor Vard, chairman of the international affairs committee, will attend, along with Jack Doyle, chairman of the Show Jumpers' Club.
Marshall and Kürten have stated they will not jump on teams with Cian O'Connor following his positive dope test in Athens that resulted in the loss of his Olympic gold medal. Marshall also refused to ride on any team until the selection panel has been replaced.
Without their services in last Friday's Super League round in Aachen, the Irish team finished eighth and has dropped to last in the rankings going forward to next month's final in Barcelona.