Show jumping plan to be revealed Monday
It will see Robert Splaine installed as the team manager and Commandant John Ledingham as the chairman of selectors, while the identity of the two advisors will also be revealed.
Monday’s announcement should end the rampant speculation concerning the set-up and, in particular, Splaine’s accession to the manager’s post.
Approximately a month ago, the Corkman was announced as the successful candidate for the position, following an interview process. However, difficulties with the nailing down of a contract lead to serious doubts as to whether the Cork man would take up the reins. This was understandable, considering the travails surrounding the securing of a chef d’equipe/team manager in the past 18 months.
In the vacuum that emerged in the wait for a contract signing, speculation was rife, with much of it centring on problems with the agreement of the two advisors.
Monday’s unveiling should put an and to the conjecture and, while no contract had been signed by Splaine as of yesterday afternoon, an EFI source said all aspects of it had been agreed and signatures were now a formality.
Splaine’s contract will take him up to the end of 2008 as team manager and will see him in place for the Samsung Nations Cup Super League for the next three years, along with this year’s World Equestrian Games in Aachen, next year’s European Championship in Mannheim and the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
It is fair to speculate that the contract will contain clauses on performance reviews and bonuses as a result of, for example, medal wins. This would be standard practice.
Veteran rider Splaine, who is competing in Italy, could not be contacted yesterday.
Monday’s reception to announce the “EFI Jumping Team” will take place in the RDS. It will also see the release of plans for the 2006 international season for the senior teams and developmental squad. Plans will also be announced for the international participation of riders in ponies, juniors, young riders, and amateurs levels. This follows the recent surprise decision of the Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) to relinquish its involvement in international show jumping at all levels of the sport and give control to the EFI.
* HARRY and Kris Marshall produced a father and son one-two last weekend at the three-star show in Arezzo, Italy.
Dad Harry, on board the Irish-bred Kan Kan, showed experience is difficult to beat when denying son Kris, on Mandarin Smoke, by just over a second in the 1.25m competition for six-year-old horses that attracted 112 starters.
Harry also figured in a 1.35m gold tour class on Friday, but had to settle for second place with Swift, with world champion Dermott Lennon and Zora finishing seventh.
Zanoubia continues to pay her way for Cian O’Connor, giving him his third win at the Tuscany show, with the Meath-based rider upping it to four on Sunday with Conany Clover.
O’Connor’s hat-trick with the 11-eleven year old mare Zanoubia saw him finish an impressive three seconds faster than his nearest rival in a 1.35m take your own line competition.
The 26-year-old rider steered the Diamond Clover mare Conany Clover to victory in a 1.30m class for seven-year-old horses on Sunday.
Edward Little also showed a penchant for the winner’s enclosure, producing a silver tour double with Belvedere and coming close to a hat-trick when second on Pulserate.
The Tyrone rider and the nine-year-old Cavalier Royale gelding Belvedere opened their account with a win on Friday in a 1.40m speed class.
Pulserate came close to helping him achieve a brace, but Little had to settle for the runner-up spot on Sunday morning.
However, Belvedere again produced the goods that afternoon, the winning margin of four-hundredths of a second good enough to earn Little €3,000 for his victory in a 1.45m jump-off class.
* IT emerged this week that a US company has cloned two champion cutting horses, which it is selling for $150,000 each.
The company, ViaGen, said it had achieved multiple clone pregnancies and intended to produce up to 30 more cloned horses in the next year.
In a statement, the Austin, Texas-based concern said the aging champion cutting horse Royal Blue Boon, a registered American Quarter Horse, “became the first mare to be commercially cloned” when a foal was born to a surrogate mare in Oklahoma on February 19. The company said: “The foal was born healthy and continues to thrive on the farm where she was born.”
Soon after, a clone of the mare Tap O Lena was born at the same farm on March 9 and ViaGen said: “Two clones of the famous mare Bet Yer Blue Boons are expected to be born any day. Including the foals announced, seven clones of famous horses will be born this year. Many other pregnant ViaGen/Encore mares are due next year. The companies have also gene banked over 75 champion horses from multiple breeds and disciplines.”
It also said horse clones had been shipped around the world: “Several have been sold in Europe through one of Encore’s marketing partners: a French company named Cryozootech.
Cutting horses are used to separate cows from the herd.
The American Quarter Horse association bans the registration of clones, as does the Jockey Club. Yesterday, an Irish Horse Board spokesman said: “It is not something we have been confronted with.”
Cloning of horses is nothing new and the first cloned horse was born in 2003 in Italy. But ViaGen has big financial backing, making it a serious player in the cloning industry. Its main goal is to make cloning an everyday aspect of agriculture using top class pedigrees in the cattle and pig industries. However, the US Food and Drug Administration has blocked its efforts amid public concern about such animals entering the food chain..
Thus, ViaGen has gone into horse cloning, with company president Mark Walton saying: “It’s a significant business opportunity.”
* AVONDHU HUNT in Co Cork is to stage a fun ride on Sunday in aid of Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. Starting at 2pm, it will set out from the Castle Tavern, Ballyhooley. Jumping is optional. Further details: 086 3503202.
* THE SJAI’s Connacht Region secretary Noleen Kerins has resigned from the association’s national executive, while Galway man Mark Duffy has announced he is standing down from the SJAI’s national competitions committee.
Among the reasons for their decision to quit is the loss by Ballina show of its leg in the national grand prix league, following a clash of dates with Ennis show.
Yesterday, Ms Kerins said: “Ballina was part of the reason for my decision to resign, but there were other issues too, which I would prefer not to discuss at the moment.”
Duffy said he held Ennis show in high regard - “it’s a show I really enjoy” - but argued that Ballina had fulfilled all the criteria laid down by the SJAI.
He also said he was “frustrated” that the SJAI had permitted the RDS to take control of selecting the venues for Dublin Horse Show qualifiers. He said that, previously, the venues would have been submitted to the RDS for approval.
Central to his frustration is that Connacht has been allocated only two qualifiers this year. Normally, it would have four.
“The RDS is entitled to take over the organisation of its qualifiers ... but I feel the SJAI has been very weak in its handling of this issue,” he said.
Both Duffy and Kerins stressed they would continue to play a role at regional level.
