MADAM,

Below I attach an open letter to the Minister for Agriculture and the Minister for Sport on the subject of the High Performance levy, which was sent on December 9th on behalf of the listed riders.

Dear Ministers,

Despite their assertions to the opposite, Horse Sport Ireland are not listening to the horse sport industry. The latest revised move by Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) to introduce a charge (€45 incl VAT) for making entries to FEI competitions is a further hammer blow to the horse sport industry.

1. This move threatens the livelihood of every young Irish rider training in Europe. An international yard employing three or four Irish riders would cost the yard over €15,000 a year. The obvious answer for these yards will be to look for riders from other European countries where there is no such charge.

2. International shows in Ireland run on tiny margins and only with the help of private sponsorship. To attend an Irish international will add €15,000 on to competitors costs for each competition. The reduced entries arising from the extra cost will make the running of these shows untenable.

We ask you to use your good office to review this charge with HSI and ensure that it is removed as soon as possible. Before the above charge was introduced we were already paying significantly larger charges for FEI membership through the HSI. For example, for an adult show jumper in Ireland the annual cost is €355 compared to €30 to €45 in Portugal and France.

Kind Regards,

Alanna Fagan, Bertram Allen, Cian O’Connor, Cici Murray, Claire Brannigan, Daniel Coyle, Daniel McAlinden, David Blake, Eddie Moloney, Edward Doyle, Edward Doyle Junior, Emily Moloney, Eoin Gallagher, Ger O’Neill, Gerard Campbell, Harry Allen, Jack Doyle, Jonathan Gordon, Kevin Gallagher, Lorcan Gallagher, Marion Hughes, Martha Hughes-Bravo, Max Foley, Michael Duffy, Miguel Bravo, Mikey Pender, Molly Hughes-Bravo, Niall Talbot, Nicky Galligan, Philip McGuane, Richie Maloney, Sarah Jane Murphy, Sean Monaghan, Shane Sweetman, Simon McCarthy, Stella Manship, Ted Fagan, Trevor Breen.

Yours etc,

Gerard Campbell,

Naas

Co Kildare