Sir, - I was furious to read B. Wright's highly selective interpretation of the Control of Horses Bill (The Irish Times, July 11th), in which he/she chooses only to lambast the Ward Union Staghunt and its "barbaric pursuits".
What about people like me, who own a horse, hack it out on the roads and forests around Dublin two or three times a week, and occasionally attend show jumping competitions, but who do not hunt?
There are tens of thousands of us, and if the Control of Horses Bill is fully implemented by various county councils in their bylaws, it will be illegal for us to ride our horses on the roads, transport our horses to competitions, and ride on any "controlled" land, such as forests and foreshores.
Like the many people who belong to registered riding clubs and show-jumping associations - not to mention the thousands of tourists who visit Ireland every year because of its world-famous horse culture - I will no longer be able to enjoy my only recreational pursuit, because it will, effectively, be against the law.
Did the civil servants who drew up this bill - admirable in many other respects - simply forget about the tens of thousands of responsible, caring, dedicated people who ride horses for recreation every week in this country? Or was there a more sinister reason behind this selective amnesia? That people who own horses for recreation are a rich, privileged bunch who deserve to have their decadent pleasures curtailed?
Well, I am neither rich nor privileged, and no horse-owner I know falls into this category either. Perhaps we should have a bill that bans golf as well. They may as well ruin everyone's fun while they're at it. - Yours, etc., HELEN McCLELLAND, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.