Some of the people attending the 150 or so rural shows across the country during the next six months might wonder at times about what is really happening in the horse and cattle rings.

Equestrian: Lady luck is capricious, as show jumper Cameron Hanley will attest.

Andrew Doyle, chairman of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, believes moves to bring online betting into the tax net should result in greater financial support for the sport horse industry.

WHETHER it was by design, or co-incidental, one major theme emerged at last Tuesday’s National Equine Conference: The need for more thoroughbred blood in the sport horse population.