Robert Splaine will continue as manager of the Ireland show jumping team, following a review of his performance over the past two years.

Billy Twomey landed in Verona, Italy, yesterday confident he can boost his World Cup account after making his first deposit last Sunday.

Showjumping Ireland (SJI) chairman Tony Hurley yesterday said the organisation is to correct a situation whereby imported horses are automatically given 70 points when first registered here, regardless of their actual performance history.

A call-up for nations cup duty with MHS Going Global means Greg Broderick will miss the chance to repeat his gold medal performance at next week’s World Breeding Championships at Lanaken, Belgium, with Super Chilled and Alberta Mist.

Shane Sweetnam may have offloaded his top ride last year, but that does not mean he is ready to relinquish his position as a stalwart of the Irish team.

Austin O’Connor believes the Irish team selected for the eventing nations cup at the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen next week is not without potential.

Showjumping Ireland (SJI) chairman Tony Hurley is optimistic the work of its insurance taskforce will pay dividends and he is “hopeful” of a substantial reduction in the premium for next year.

It has come as a surprise, even to Showjumping Ireland, that membership and registration figures for January are up, albeit marginally, on the same time last year.

Corkman Tony Hurley was last night elected chairman of ShowjumpingIreland at the first meeting of the new executive.

Shane Sweetnam scored a third place in yesterday’s feature class on day two of the $4m FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, having notched up back-to-back victories on Wednesday.

Insurance is the biggest issue facing ShowjumpingIreland, according to Munster Region chairman Tony Hurley, after a quadrupling of the association’s premium to €625,000 for 2013.

Show jumping followers can expect a 25% rise in membership and horse registration fees next year as a result of the quadrupling of ShowjumpingIreland’s insurance premium.

Billy Twomey is confident that he and Denis Lynch have won two individual spots for Ireland in the Olympics, saying that, with almost three weeks to go to the March 1 cut-off date, they cannot be caught by Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya.

It was all systems go yesterday at both the unaffiliated Millstreet Horse Show All-Ireland Championships in Co Cork and the Showjumping Ireland National Championships in Co Kildare.

THOLM KEANE has been getting a nice tune out of tenor Ronan Tynan’s horses at this week’s Millstreet Horse Show, but yesterday he was right on song when taking the first of the show’s grands prix with Redmills Warrenstown You 2.

THE last vestiges of the Cian O’Connor saga are, one by one, being dealt with.

GOLD medals counted for nothing in the Irish Horse Board Land Rover World Cup qualifier in Ballindenisk, Co Cork, yesterday as Neilus O’Donoghue gave a lesson in composure to triple Olympic champion Matt Ryan.

THE independent investigation of the Army Equitation School by two UCD vets has been completed and indicates there are/were no untoward practices at the facility, sources say.

THE national executive of the Show Jumping Association of Ireland last Tuesday rescinded a Cork/Kerry Branch motion limiting the length of tenure of its secretary position.

REGRETTABLY, Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy’s largesse towards Punchestown is proving to be a poison chalice for equestrianism.

NEWLY-ELECTED Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) chairman Charles Hanley has poured cold water on efforts to re-ignite plans for a unified equestrianism body.

DERMOTT LENNON and his World Equestrian Games team-mates are, after four months waiting, to receive their prize-money.

THE Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) is to take a major step forward with the setting up of a unified equestrian body without the immediate involvement of the Irish Horse Board (IHB).

THE woman campaigning to keep Don’t Step Back with rider Patricia Donegan claims to have commitments totalling €150,000 towards syndication of the horse.

THE discord between the Royal Dublin Society and the Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) over the association’s headquarters at Ballsbridge escalated this week with the news that court proceedings are imminent.