Moloney upbeat about title prospects
The Kilkenny rider left it until the final to claim last year’s Premier Series, finishing with a flourish and victory to overhaul Peter Smyth.
With due consideration to the vagaries of fate and the loss of the impressive Slieveanorra, Moloney yesterday felt he had reason to be upbeat.
“I have as good a chance as anybody,” he declared. “Winning the series is definitely my aim, but I expect it to be a close battle again.
“I have a couple of different horses that might not be as experienced at this level, but I still have Chatsworth Dan and he is as good as ever. He is 14 now, but he is still capable of being competitive,” said Moloney who rode the Diamond Serpent gelding to ninth in last weekend’s grand prix in Lummen, Belgium.
“Last year, I used three horses and to be very competitive you need at least two horses collecting points.
“I have one new horse, Goodwins 007. I am resting him after Lummen, where he had some good results. He is 11, but I only have him two months. He was formerly ridden by Killian Browne from Cork. His first big test was in the international grand prix in Cavan and he has been placed in a number of 1.40m grand prix. I think it’s time to move him up a grade and I feel he has the ability to win a couple of Premier classes this year.”
The series, with €150,000 on offer over 10 competitions, is billed as Europe’s richest national league and Moloney is in no doubt regarding its value to Irish show jumping.
“The series is a good stepping stone if your horse is ready for international level. I jumped in the nations cup in Lisbon last year with Chatsworth Dan and the Premier Series definitely helped him develop,” said Moloney, who also rides Dante Van De Noordheuvel and Foxy Cleopatra R in tomorrow’s qualifier.
“My best horse, Slieveanorra, was sold last year to a US owner and is now ridden by my brother Richie. I expect him to line out in a Super League nations cup competition this year. He already jumped four and clear in the nations cup in Florida last month. The likes of him, Puissance, Will Wimble, Larkhill Cruiser and Annestown are some of the few horses that developed from the Premier Series and are ready to jump at the highest level in nations cups. It’s as good a national series as you would get in any country,” said the Warrington man.
This year’s series shows one major change in that the second division National Grand Prix classes will, on each Saturday, determine the 30 to contest the Premier Series on Sundays.
lUnderstandably, there was concern that opposition to the household charge would be mirrored in the Department of Agriculture’s new horse premises registration.
Under the new requirement announced last month, horse owners and horse keepers are required to register all premises with the department before next Tuesday, May 1. Premises means any location, with or without buildings, where horses are kept.
Following a recent meeting between a Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) delegation, department officials clarified that farmers would not need to register their property in cases where horses crossed it during competition. HSI also convinced the department to issue new forms and FAQs in a bid to allay concerns.
However, one area not addressed is whether information gathered under the horse premises order could be transferred, for example, to the Department of the Environment, which is handling the controversial household charge and water charge.
In response to a query, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said: “Government departments are not automatically obliged to transfer data to other Government departments. Under the Data Protection Acts, each department is treated as a separate entity. However, where requested, under certain circumstances, departments may be asked to supply data to other departments or state agencies. Where a department receives such a request, each case is looked at individually to ascertain if there is legal basis for release of the data.”
The final sentence above is worthy of consideration when viewed in the light of Minister Phil Hogan’s declaration that the household charge “is not going away” and people will be chased down in the same way as those who fail to pay their TV licence.
However, the department spokesperson, echoing HSI’s position, stressed that registration was for the benefit of the industry.
“The whole purpose in asking people to register their premises with the department is so that we can know where horses are located in the event of a contagious disease outbreak. Currently there is no system that enables us to do this.”
The spokesperson was not in a position to give a figure on the number of people who had registered to date.
However, he said that “there could be 2-3 times the number of equine premises than the 3,000 current equine holdings that are registered on the existing system”.
A better perspective, however, came from HSI, who confirmed that its twice-yearly breeding magazine was posted to 18,500 homes owned by registered horse breeders.
The department spokesman was also reticent to discuss the issue of penalties, preferring to focus on the registration law as a positive issue.
Those in agreement can get registration forms at www.agriculture.gov.ie or from local district veterinary offices.
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