Fears for point-to-point fixtures over insurance difficulties 

Point-to-points are valuable feeders into the broader spectrum of an Irish horse racing industry worth an estimated €2bn to the national economy and responsible for more than 14,000 jobs. Picture: HEALY RACING

Many Irish point-to-point fixtures face uncertainty in the New Year following the withdrawal of a major insurance provider and a reluctance amongst other providers to provide cover.

The difficulties pertain to hunt clubs, who manage most of the 100 or so point-to-point meetings across the 32 counties.

Around a quarter of the 90-plus clubs are in the North and are insured from Britain.

A similar number of clubs in the Cork/Waterford region are covered through a long-term agreement with a Cork city underwriter.

However many of the remaining clubs were insured through US-based Liberty Mutual who have withdrawn from the market.

The move follows several personal injury claims in recent times. 

For the first time in its 22-year history, Ballymacoda Hunt Club in east Cork, which does not hold point-to-points, has not ridden all season “because we can’t get a quote”, says chairman Val Hyde.

Describing the situation as “worrying”, chairman of the Amateur Jockey Association of Ireland, Derek O’Connor, suggests point-to-point committees may need to consider seeking “one-day insurance for meetings”, independent of hunting.

Fears for jobs

Chairman of the Irish Point to Point Handlers Association, Gerry Kelleher, says he has received “numerous phone calls” from the association’s members worried about their jobs.

“It shouldn’t really be the hunt clubs’ responsibility to insure point-to-points,” Mr Kelleher says. 

“The Irish Horse Racing Board (IHRB) should be trying to bring every point-to-point committee under one group scheme.”.

Point-to-points are valuable feeders into the broader spectrum of an Irish horse racing industry worth an estimated €2bn to the national economy and responsible for more than 14,000 jobs.

Conscious of the sport’s prominence in rural communities, Mr O’Connor cites “jockeys, trainers, handlers, stable staff, farriers, vets, co-ops, and the retail and catering sectors” as affiliated interests.

In a recent Dáil address, Independent TD for Tipperary Michael Lowry accused insurance companies of exercising a “stranglehold” over the equestrian industry generally.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Department of Justice had recently completed a review of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995, amidst hopes to install “a common-sense approach to risk”, with particular relevance to the “slips, trips and falls” of equestrian activities.

He said new guidelines are also being introduced “to set new levels for personal injury compensation”.

A spokesman for the IHRB says it is “working closely with all stakeholders” and that “every avenue is being explored” to resolve insurance difficulties.