No plans to drop equestrian sport for 2012

IF Federation Equestre Internationale president Princess Haya was selling a horse at Ballinasloe Fair next month, I doubt she would get many buyers, based on her recent promotion of equestrian sport.

In an interview with Horse and Hound, the Jordanian warned that equestrian’s place as an Olympic sport in London 2012 was under threat, before spelling out its flaws.

She noted that: “The popularity of dressage is abnormally low and there are complaints about judging and the make up of judging panels and committees. Anyone who thinks equestrian sports are secure for London is mistaken.

“The IOC has very reasonable and legitimate concerns about eventing safety and the way the dressage committee is working.

“It could also be the end of show jumping as an Olympic sport, too, as they are unlikely to leave it on its own,” said Haya, a member of the International Olympic Committee.

Referring to eventing, she said: “The amazing standard of dressage on the first day was great for the sport. And we have roped in a whole new audience from outside. “But walking away and saying ‘thank God nobody died,’ isn’t good enough.”

However, yesterday International Olympic Committee (IOC) media relations manager Emmanuelle Moreau yesterday contradicted Haya’s assertion regarding the possibility of equestrian sport being dropped for London.

“The programme for 2012 is fixed and was decided in 2005. There will be 26 sports in London. There has been a vote and there are no plans for a change.

“There will be a full review after Beijing, a thorough analysis, which will commence in autumn. We are now looking at the competition schedule for 2016,” said Ms Moreau, who added that the Olympic commission would meet in November to assess each sport and that the composition of the 2016 Games would be decided in October 2009, when the host city is selected.

One thing, however, is certain, after Haya’s comments, IOC members will now have no doubt as to the merits of deleting equestrian sport.

Maybe the FEI president was pointing out the undeniable realities. After all, the horses of six riders have tested positive for banned substances, the latest being Rufus, the horse of show jumper Rodrigo Pessoa. Embarrassingly, the Brazilian star is a member of the FEI Jumping Committee and a committee member of the International Jumping Riders Club, and the man who received the gold forfeited by Cian O’Connor after the Athens Olympics.

To put it in context, six is the number of positive tests from athletes in all other sports at the Beijing Olympics.

Not surprisingly, her interview was noted by the Olympic Committee of Ireland, which carried extracts on its website, saying Haya’s comments followed a warning from OCI president and European Olympic Committee president Pat Hickey that the sport was in danger of being voted off the Games schedule for 2016.

lEILISH BYRNE’S dream becomes a reality this Sunday, when she takes part in the first dressage competition of the Paralympics in Hong Kong.

The 44-year-old Armagh-based dressage rider, who suffers from spina bifida, qualified for the Paralympics when she became the first Irish para equestrian to an win an international event. This came in a Grade II individual test in Austria in June of last year on a score of 66.45% with her horse Youri, a 12-year-old Dutch warmblood.

Yesterday, she said Youri was “in great form,” adding that “the Swiss trainer stopped me to compliment me on my riding and how much we have improved, which was cool.”

Byrne says she and her trainer Niall Quirk have spoken with Ireland’s eventing riders to gain an insight from their experience. The problems they encountered with a large screen near the arena also came up for discussion.

“We have the same screen, but have been allowed to work in the field of play. Niall was at the Olympics, so we are all set and ready. The only thing we haven’t done is work with a crowd in this environment, though we can’t do much about that,” said Byrne, who arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday of last week.

Para-equestrian and its involvement with the Paralympics dates from just 1996. Paralympic dressage is graded on five levels, depending on the level of disability: 1a, 1b, II, III and IV. Byrne will compete at Grade II level.

Following Sunday’s initial test, she will undertake an individual test on day two and a freestyle test on day three.

lIRELAND’S last visit to Spruce Meadows in Canada was in 2001 and it was a winning one.

Team manager Robert Splaine will be hoping for a repeat tomorrow, viewing the trip across the Atlantic as a suitable preparation for the Samsung Super League final in Barcelona in two weeks.

The winning team seven years ago was Kevin Babington, Dermott Lennon, Jessica Kürten and Peter Charles.

This time the mantle will be worn by Edward Doyle (Sequoyah Farms Utopia and Blubai), Cameron Hanley (Southwind VDL and SIEC Royal Star), Cian O'Connor (Rancorrado and Splendor), and Niall Talbot (Tequi D'I CH).

* WATERFORD continues to dominate the ShowjumpingIreland National Grand Prix League, but it was Paddy O’Donnell who underlined this yesterday in Piltown, Co Kilkenny, not league leaders Tholm Keane or Francis Connors.

O’Donnell had over three seconds to spare in taking his first grand prix win at Iverk Show with Thomas Power’s Harristown Princess.

“We’ve had this horse since she was broken, and I’m delighted with her. We had a second place two weeks ago, and I was honestly not expecting to improve on that, but we did the business here today,” he said, adding it was great to be among Waterford riders of “such calibre”.

Best of these on the day was Keane, who piloted Ronan Tynan’s Warrenstown Well Aware to second place. For good measure, he finished third with Redmills Krafty Jack, ahead of Connors on Merlin’s Magic.

Keane’s performance saw him join Connors at the top of the leaderboard on 65 points, with just two legs remaining.