Peace talks fail to materialise

A MEETING between Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) chairman Charles Hanley and Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) president Charles Powell aimed at smoothing relations between the two bodies failed to materialise yesterday, following the leaking this week of a letter written by the SJAI interim chief executive Liz Pottie.

Ms Pottie’s personal missive, sent by email to Mr Powell last week, reproached the EFI for the federation’s “derogatory tone” in a recent letter which stated its intention to withhold the SJAI’s allocation of Irish Sports Council funding.

The appearance of Ms Pottie’s communication in the media was viewed by the EFI as another example of the SJAI’s inability to maintain confidentiality. In her personal note to Mr Powell, Ms Pottie is reported as saying the EFI letter has soured relations between the two bodies when “over the past few years a much greater harmony existed”. The letter, she says, has “caused possible irreparable damage ... as if a sledgehammer has been driven between us. Instead of building bridges, a chasm has been formed”.