With equestrian sport’s world championships, the World Equestrian Games, less than three months away, Irish eventing was boosted at the weekend by a number of stellar performances at the four-star German meeting at Luhmühlen.

Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) chairman Pat Wall believes the organisation is doing enough to ensure equestrian sport is clean, but concedes “we have to continue to be vigilant”.

Kieran O’Gorman of the West Cork Horse Breeders this week declared that “the school represents great value for money” and he questioned if McCarthy was being “penny wise, but pound foolish”.