Insurance hike will mean 25% rise in membership fees
SJI chairman Christy Murphy also said show organisers are likely to face a 50% increase in authorisation fees.
He said these moves will be accompanied by “cost-cutting across the board”.
In addition, the national championships are to be axed, having been staged in Ennis, Co Clare, in the past two years.
“The national championships will not go ahead in 2013. The Premier Series winner will be accorded the national champion title instead. Winning the series shows consistency on the part of the rider, which is what is important. The accolade is important, too, which is why we are incorporating it into the Premier Series,” said Murphy.
“Ennis did a good job, it just did not gather the momentum it should have. We actually had a few venues tendering for the championships.”
The cutbacks have also impacted on the search for an office manager, which “has been put on hold”.
“We are trying to ensure there is no impact on the service provided to members. The regions will get the same allocation as in 2012,” said Murphy, who conceded the fee rises could hit participation, but rejected they would lead to more unaffiliated shows.
The rise in the premium to around €600,000 is due to pending claims as a result of two serious incidents.
Insurance has been a controversial issue in show jumping for years, yet Murphy said the SJI could not put the full details of its new policy online for scrutiny.
“A shorter outline will be available to show secretaries and members, but the full details will not be available, as it would be commercially sensitive. Our brokers are advising us that members can apply to the executive to see the whole policy, but they must include a valid reason,” said Murphy.
Escaping the axe will be SJI’s 2013 contribution through Horse Sport Ireland to high-performance, which Murphy said will match the €100,000 provided this year.
Yesterday, chairman of the SJI national competitions committee, Tony Hurley, said competitors should take out individual insurance. “I would strongly advise that every rider should have their own personal insurance. The SJI insurance is robust, but you cannot have enough protection.”
Meanwhile, Murphy said SJI was resending a letter to Horse Sport Ireland seeking an extension of Robert Splaine’s contract as Irish manager. A second letter had been sent in recent weeks, unknown to executive members, which included the caveat that the post be opened up to other applicants.
“We are reiterating our support for Robert as manager and I would like to think that, as HSI’s biggest affiliate, our opinion would count for something,” said Murphy.
lCian O’Connor dominated last weekend’s Cavan International Horse Show, winning the Gain/Alltech Autumn League and Sunday’s grand prix. He also notched up two seconds and a fourth with Trebox Accorada in the speed classes, making him the runaway winner of the leading rider prize.
O’Connor’s league and grand prix wins featured Ulano, with the latter coming after a head-to-head with Canadian Rebecca McGoldrick. After seeing Eddie Moloney tie with him at the top of the Autumn League in the run-up to Cavan, O’Connor pipped the Kilkenny rider and Macushla R by one-hundredth of a second in Friday’s finale to clinch the title.
O’Connor and Robert Splaine will be at a reception next Thursday hosted by the Lord Mayor of Cork, John Buttimer, paying tribute to the Aga Khan Trophy-winning team.
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