EI membership drops by 40% in just three years

EVENTING IRELAND (EI) chairman John Wright yesterday revealed that the organisation’s membership has dropped by almost 40% in just three years.

“Membership and registration of horses has fallen each year since 2008. The former has seen a drop amounting to almost 40% and lies at just under 1,000,” he said yesterday.

A startling statistic, but in contrast the downward trend in national-class entries has been reversed, while the number of events is also up considerably.

“Entries were down from the beginning of 2008 to the end of 2010, but they have gone back up, due to more events, and test marketing of tickets, ie selectively dropping the price of day tickets in the latter part of the season and using free day tickets to encourage non-members or members with unregistered horses to enter events,” said Wright.

This year saw 54 events compared to 43 in 2010, which was coupled with an 8% rise in entries on a national scale, representing what Wright says is increased income for organisers and greater EI levies of about €40,000.

The national rise in entries, however, hides the reduction in average numbers competing per event, down from 164 in 2010 to 140 this year.

Could the rise in the number of events be to blame? Most probably, says Wright, who adds, however, that that is no reason to cut the number of venues, as is being suggested.

“Some members are strongly urging me that the way to adjust this important average upwards is to reduce the number of events for 2012 by reducing the number of venues. Where is the evidence to support the view that reducing the number of events/venues would increase income to organisers and the fortunes of the society?

“My concern would be that if we were to reduce the number of events/venues we would further reduce the number of memberships, registrations and entries,” says Wright in his end-of-season statement.

“Members are well provisioned for in the Munster and the Northern regions with the number and quality of venues. It is time to concentrate on the other three regions.

“Look at how small or absent is our presence in those areas of the country where we have no venues. For example, look north of a line between Dublin and Galway and west of the M1 motorway.

“We have little presence or membership there. There is a large area of Ireland waiting to be yet introduced to eventing.

“People join EI to event. My philosophy is that if we are to retain them we must press on with giving them as many opportunities as practicable to compete around the country and also give them value for money.”

Yesterday, he said: “The facts cannot be disputed, it is a matter of how we interpret them. The first immutable fact is that we have had more events and entries are up, and have been trending up all year.

“I find it impossible to see the logic in reducing the number of events, particularly as the board in 2008 declared a policy of seeking more events.”

- THE ShowjumpingIreland (SJI) executive has opted for XL to be its new insurance providers.

The new policy will be put in place once questions on a number of small issues are clarified, said chairman Christy Murphy yesterday.

The current policy is due to expire on November 1.

Mr Murphy said efforts are being made to bring in the new insurance policy to cover next week’s Owners Pony and Young Riders Charity Show in Millstreet, but it was too early to say if this could be achieved.

“We will be doing our best to facilitate the organisers of the Owners show, particularly as it is such a worthy event that raised much money for charity over the years,” said Murphy.

- DENIS LYNCH is in Helsinki, Finland, this weekend, aiming to build on his fifth place in last week’s World Cup opener at Oslo.

Cian O’Connor and Billy Twomey have also travelled east, hoping to notch up their first points.

The former four-faulted at the combination with Carpe Diem last Sunday, while the latter was forced to retire when the martingale broke on Romanov II.