Doherty smiling after fine 14th in dressage at Europeans
“He did the best test of his life and, in normal circumstances, this would have merited something in the low 40s, but the judges were taking account that the best riders and horses are here.”
Doherty’s positivity was helping her to deal with her championships debut.
“I am not too nervous. That might change on Saturday morning, though, before the cross-country, as I really don’t want to leave Team Ireland down. At the moment I feel confident we can do it and I am going to give it my all,” said the Armagh rider.
The team’s goal is to qualify for next year’s Olympics, meaning they must finish in the top two of countries not already qualified. Britain, Germany and Belgium are already through.
Fellow team member Mark Kyle (Coolio) also opened his competition yesterday, scoring 60.4pens, which left Ireland a lowly ninth. Another debutant, Joseph Murphy (Electric Cruise) undertakes his test at 11.10am today, followed by Sam Watson (Horseware Bushman) at 3.10pm. Individuals, Capt Geoff Curran and The Jump Jet ended yesterday on 54pens to lie 21st.
* A ShowjumpingIreland sub-committee is to meet two insurance sector representatives on Tuesday morning with a view to putting in place a new policy as quickly as possible.
Present will be Damien Woods, an independent expert initially tasked by Horse Sport Ireland to undertake a review of the current SJI policy. He highlighted deficiencies and was subsequently retained by the SJI to ensure any new policy would meet the requirements of the sport and its members. Chairperson of the Irish Show Jumping Centres Group, Anne Waistell, who is also a member of the SJI executive, will also be present.
SJI chairman Christy Murphy yesterday said: “Two insurance representatives have been invited to talk to the insurance sub-committee, which is made up of the regional chairmen, Anne Waistell and myself. Any holes in the insurance will be dealt with in any new policy. We plan to give each executive member a copy of our report prior to the next executive meeting. We have tentative plans to hold our AGM in the middle-to-late September and would expect to have the executive meeting prior to that.
“We hope to have a new insurance policy in place in the next couple of weeks. It’s imperative. It will have to be a policy that the SJI can afford. Members, too, though, should have their own insurance, particularly in terms of public liability. Ultimately, a person is responsible for themselves, which applies in every aspect of life.”
Anne Waistell yesterday welcomed the development: “Matters are progressing in the right way in that we are putting a new policy in place, which is crucial,” she said.
Murphy, meanwhile, confirmed that at a meeting on Tuesday, the national executive decided to terminate the association’s arrangement with Coolree House Stud, which sees its owner and former SJI chairperson Ronan Corrigan acting as a consultant to the SJI.
“The contract will end on September 16. The decision to terminate it was not unanimous, but was agreed by the executive. It was to end on September 30 regardless,” said Murphy.
He also confirmed that the executive has opted not to appeal a finding by the Competition Authority that the SJI was anti-competitive in its application of Rule 299N. The SJI had threatened to invoke the rule to sanction members who participated in last year’s Millstreet unaffiliated show. A complaint concerning the rule had been lodged with the Authority by Millstreet’s Noel C Duggan, who had long questioned the adequacy of the SJI insurance and who described the Authority’s findings as a vindication of his position. The SJI suspended the rule this month, allowing its members to participate at Millstreet without the threat of sanction.
Murphy initially said the SJI had no case to answer as per the Authority’s findings, but, yesterday, acknowledged that, having given the findings greater consideration, his assessment was incorrect: “We’ve accepted the Authority’s findings. I know that I said previously the SJI had no case to answer regarding the findings but, with the benefit of hindsight, I accept that this was wrong, in that Rule 299N was found to be anti-competitive.”
Murphy felt Tuesday’s meeting was a watershed in the affairs of the SJI.
“The meeting was cordial and productive. It was probably the best this year. There have been issues facing the SJI over the past few years and hopefully, these will have been addressed soon, and the association can concentrate on its core activity, which is to ensure show jumping goes ahead.”
* ZARA PHILLIPS is returning next month to the Johnson & Perrott Land Rover Horse Trials at Ballindenisk, Co Cork. The participation of the British royal was announced at a reception last night in Cork and it highlights that nearly 40% of competitors are from overseas, with 160 entries from 10 countries.
Phillips, who last competed in Ballindenisk in 2007, is a former world and European champion and will face stiff competition, not least from William Fox Pitt, the three-times world number one and individual silver medallist at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Australian Andrew Hoy, an Olympic individual silver medallist and three-time team gold medallist, is another of the world-class field set to boost the reputation of the event.
The home fans will look to the likes of locals Michael and Patricia Ryan to put up a challenge at the event, which runs from Sept 15-18.
* THREE arenas will operate at Sunday’s Blackrock Charity Show in Ballindenisk, Co Cork. There will be competitions for all grades of horses and ponies. Enquiries: 087/2514215
