August has been a big month for the Irish with plenty riding on the outcome of Dublin Horse Show and the European Championships the following week.

Dublin Horse Show hosted the seventh leg of the Samsung Super League competition even though they were ousted from the A league after finishing last on the leaderboard in 2006 and rumours abound that the contract may not be renewed for the Super League fixture if the Irish do not make it back into the Super League for 2008.

And while this pressure is no doubt being felt there is also the pressure of needing to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games after Ireland lost their qualification in Athens when Cian O'Connor lost the gold medal which then affected the team placing.

The European Championship Team competition is now done and dusted and Ireland failed to make the cut coming in as the 13th team out of the 18 teams challenging for the medals and this was just not good enough.

No doubt there will be plenty of commentary in the next weeks over the failure of the Irish team in Mannheim but we received the following letter early Friday morning after the results were in.

Dear Editor,

CC – SJAI (Patricia Furlong), EFI (Charles Powell, Dan Butler), IHB (Joe Walsh, Nicholas Finnerty, Kate Horgan)

I feel compelled to write this letter. As a sponsor of Showjumping in Ireland both locally and nationally, I have been completely stunned, mystified and dismayed at recent events at the European Championships in Mannheim, Germany.

The Irish Team was announced by Robert Splaine on Thursday 2nd August on the official EFI website - Marie Burke, Jessica Kurten, Marion Hughes and Cameron Hanley were named. The fifth man (reserve) on the team which I presumed was to be used in case of injury to a horse or rider was named as Cian O’Connor.

Amazingly on my way to the Airport on Tuesday to Fly out to Mannheim to cheer on the Irish Team I received the news that Marie Burke had been dropped from the Irish squad. My first reaction was that Chippison had injured himself, but this was not to be the case. Marie had been told by Robert Splaine that she was off the team and was given no reason.

Marie was on a high from her recent trip to Hickstead after winning the Longines Classic Grand Prix as well as finishing 5th in the Queens Cup.

The big irony of the situation is that combination are on amazing form – on the opening day of the European Championships (the very same day she was dropped from the Irish Team) Marie beat off all the top riders in Europe to finish in 2nd position only 0.2 seconds behind the winner – but yet she was dropped by Robert Splaine that very same day.

I then returned home and was disgusted when I read in The Irish Field that Robert Splaine said that the Irish Team was picked based on a training round on Tuesday. How can you pick a team when not all members of the squad jumped in this so called training round. If this was the case, how come the manager failed to mention this in his RTE interview on Sunday during the coverage of the Grand Prix in Dublin. He clearly named his four man team and mentioned Cian O’Connor as the fifth (reserve) member. There was no mention of this so called training round.

Marie and Chippison were the leading Irish combination at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen last year and yet amazinginly this year she has not been picked for a single Nations Cup team in 2007. She was named as International Showjumper of the Year by her pears in recognition of her results in 2006 which included The Samsung Super League, Barcelona – Member of the 5th Placed Irish Team, Dublin Horse Show 120,000 Euro Longines Grand Prix – 3rd Place - finishing her two rounds with only a single time fault, Nations Cup Lumen, Belgium in June – Member of the winning Irish team, Nations Cup Lisbon, Portugal – Member of the Irish team that came second, 1.60M Audi Grand Prix in Lisbon, Portugal – 2nd Place, Grand Prix in Madrid, Spain – 3rd Place – Chippison was also crowned the leading horse for the Spanish and Portuguese tournaments.

I have to ask this question “Who Picks the Irish Teams”? To the general public it appears like it is the riders who bully their way on to teams rather than the manager, under the current regime over the past couple of seasons. What Irish riders can have confidence in themselves if they are continuously overlooked, undermined and left out in the cold. I thought a manager’s job in any sport was to lead from the top and inspire confidence in their team members – to nurture and inspire. They should also try to build a strong team spirit (which is needed at the core of any sport), yet looking at the brilliant comradery of the other teams from around Europe at the games, I felt saddened that I was ashamed to be wearing the tricolour on my jacket this week.

Marie Burke and Chippison were missed by the home crowd in Dublin this year. Marie sacrificed her trip to the RDS believing incorrectly that she was to represent her country in the European Championships. She has never let an Irish team down in any Nations Cup or Tournament; she has never been a discard score member of any Irish team.

Chippison was the No.1 Irish bred showjumper in Europe last year and number 2 in the world, yet Ireland were relegated from the Samsung Super League in that same year. Marie with such a high calibre stallion never competed in a single Super League competition until the very last one when unfortunately Ireland’s fate was sealed at this late stage - It was only when some media people started asking questions after Dublin when she finished 3rd in the Grand Prix , “Why has Marie and Chippison not been flying the Irish Flag all along” they asked. What country in their right mind would overlook a homebred stallion of this calibre - the No.1 Irish bred showjumper in Europe for 2006. Is it not in the interest of the Irish breeding regime to showcase one of their finest assets? I was delighted to see that the Irish Horse Board had a trade stand in Mannheim. They seem to be actively trying to promote the Irish horse abroad. I feel that they would get better marketing results if they showcased their horses in the flesh along with their strong trade stand presence at such events.

Marie a true professional, nurturing Chippison from a foal and producing him to this level deserves more respect. John and herself have resisted many offers for this talented stallion over the years, because they realised what a true superstar he really is. It is a crime that selection process in Ireland does not see this.

It is hard for me and others to have faith in Showjumping in Ireland and to continue supporting the sport if it appears corrupt to the core.

Ireland finish 13th at the European Championships, the Olympic dream is over.

Yours Sincerely,

Aiden Devine