SJAI set to return to the International fold

Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) is determined to ensure all loose ends are tied up ahead of its official launch on January 1.

On Tuesday, the new umbrella body took a big step forward by concluding negotiations that saw the Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) return to the international fold. This ends a controversial episode that began in January of 2006 when the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) banished the SJAI to the sidelines at the behest of the Irish Sports Council.

This prompted the association to withhold its funding for international participation, which it collected through a levy on competition entry fees. The SJAI said at the time it would bank the money, pointing out that the EFI move was temporary. Now, the SJAI must dip into the bank account, as the entrance fee to the international club amounts to €150,000 for the period 2006/’07, with a promise of €250,000 in 2008.

The agreement to reinstall the SJAI came after talks over the past few weeks between the relevant bodies resulted in an agreed format. This was ratified on Tuesday by the Irish Sports Council at a board meeting in Letterkenny, by Horse Sport Ireland at a board meeting in Naas and the SJAI at an executive meeting also in Naas.

Much of the impetus for the resolution of the impasse came from the Sports Council, which had paid approximately €300,000 towards international participation for the period 2006/’07 to make up the SJAI shortfall. The council was reluctant to continue with this scenario.

When the EFI took over control of international affairs in 2006, it set up the EFI Jumping Committee, made up of the team manager (Robert Splaine), a chairman and two advisors. The initial chairman Cmmdt John Ledingham was subsequently replaced by Bernie Brennan.

As part of the new structure, the SJAI will be represented on the new International Show Jumping Management Committee and the Chef d’Equipe Selection Panel within HSI. The SJAI will nominate the advisors on the chef d’equipe panel, subject to agreement with Splaine. Both Splaine and the SJAI will have what is being termed a “double veto” on the nominations. The Corkman’s contract runs until next year’s Olympics and, while Ireland will not be there, Splaine’s second goal of qualifying for the Samsung Super League seems to be achieved, though, mathematically, the Danes have a very slim chance to overtake us at the top of FEI Nations Cup Series if they opt to travel to the final round in Buenos Aires (November 7-11).

Yesterday, Splaine was optimistic about the new set-up, but unwilling to look too deeply into his crystal ball.

“I know Joe Walsh has been negotiating with all the relevant parties and I am looking forward to working with the new faces at HSI in the coming year,” he said.

To a large extent, the return of the SJAI to international team management will be viewed as a positive development. All our top riders, invariably, came through the ranks via competitions organised by the SJAI and it is only right it should have an input as the sport steps into a new era.

There will be a modicum of disquiet, though, in some ranks and any involvement by the SJAI must be qualified thus: the association must handle itself in a professional manner, acutely conscious it is dealing with professional athletes. SJAI chairperson Patricia Furlong acknowledged this when saying: “It is now time for us to look to the future and leave the acrimony of the past behind. All parties need to focus our attention on achieving results inside the arena.”

Not surprisingly, HSI chairman Joe Walsh also put forth a positive view.

“This new inclusive structure will allow us to put together a plan to ensure that we maximise our chances at the 2012 Olympics. The process of compiling this plan will commence immediately once the new structures are operational,” he said.

lJESSICA KÜRTEN’S lawyer Ulf Walz is on a crusade to prove the FEI is fundamentally wrong in its handling of the Castle Forbes Maike positive medication case.

The Basel-based advocate totally rejected a claim by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in this column last week that “cases involving horses do not fall under WADA rules”.

He has two planks to his argument that justice was not applied by the FEI: firstly, that the FEI should have permitted Kürten’s witness to be present at the analysis of the B sample; secondly that the FEI was wrong to dismiss his request that the B sample be tested at a different laboratory to the one that tested the A sample (LCH in Paris).

Mr Walz says it may be necessary to take legal action based on Swiss cartel law to ensure WADA clarify its code to ensure it protect an athlete’s rights, ie to prohibit the testing of the A and B samples by the same laboratory.

Accordingly, the Kürten case could become a test case for all athletes.