Splaine unlikely to be ratified until January

THE formal ratification of Robert Splaine as chef d’equipe to the senior show jumping team may not take place until January, as the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) has not scheduled an executive meeting until the New Year.

Considered urgent at one stage, it is likely that the EFI would have to call a meeting to specifically ratify the Cork man as the new chef d’equipe if it wanted to do it in 2005.

EFI secretary general Dan Butler yesterday said: “At present, there is no meeting pencilled in for December. It would not be extraordinary, but would be unusual to have an executive meeting in the weeks preceding Christmas.