Dateline: Ireland

Surely this is an early April Fools Day joke!!!! The mobile phones in Ireland were running hot on Thursday evening with messages which caused confusion, laughter and concern all at the same time.

We reported in Bits and Pieces Number Two the warning from the Show Jumping Association about competing or working at unaffiliated shows and we wondered what had provoked this message in the monthly Jumping Bulletin.

Nobody gave the whole issue much further consideration until last Saturday when the Irish Field newspaper ran an advertisement from Cavan Equestrian Centre regarding their 3 Day Horse Finals.

This was not an unusual advertisement until you read the bottom of the advertisement which states "The SJAI cannot discipline any competitor at the show" - now this did seem slightly inflammatory but again many overlooked it, focussing rather on the fact that there was a €5,000 prize fund which did seem rather high for a League Final.

But then the text messaging began - early evening on Thursday the following message was received by riders and owners all over Ireland:

"Cavan Show Sun Apr 1 not affiliated by SJAI. Members should not compete or officiate at this event per March bulletin. Advert in Irish Field didn't come from SJAI."

It is confirmed that this did come from the jumping association.

Less than an hour later the following text message was received again, throughout Ireland:

"Cavan EC have contacted the Competition Authority. The SJAI can't discipline members for merely competing @ unafil shows. Cavan going ahead & everyone welcome "

This morning (Friday) we contacted Edward Doyle, Chairman of the Irish Riders Club and he was quite forthright in his usual laconic way explaining that "this type of ruling on competing outside your club was not unusual. For example if you play Rugby for your school you cannot then play for another club - you have to choose"

He then went on to explain that "we need some sort of rules to keep things under control and make sure that everything is done right for the riders, owners and horses and without a properly run association this cannot happen and we will be back jumping in someone's back paddock again".

On talking to Pat Kelly, Director General of the SJAI, it is clear the the association are standing by their ruling and those who transgress will find that there is a written warning for the first infringement, a fine for the second and a 3 month suspension for a third infringement.

Pat explained that the "intention of the ruling is to protect the sport and the members. The Association supplies training to a standard of excellence for Course Designers, Judges and others associated with the sport and this ensures that standards are met. The SJAI has an onus to the Irish Sports Council to align with these standards. Unaffiliated shows do not guarantee these standards."

This weeks April Fools Day debacle seems to have come about because Cavan Equestrian Centre chose to run a 1.35m Grand Prix worth €2,500 in direct opposition to the official Guidam Spring Tour which is a 1.35m Grand Prix worth €2,000 on offer in Millstreet on Sunday, April 1st.

Mr Kelly is confident that the majority of members will support the SJAI ruling and this confidence stems from the many phone calls his office has received since the advertisement which appeared in the Irish Field last Saturday.

Hopefully this clashing of wills be be settled very quickly and riders, owners and show organisers can again get back to the business of running quality shows for the betterment of the sport.