Secretary's Report 2019

This is only a short and very general overview. Apologies to any club or person I have left out.

There were 19 clubs registered in the Region this year. We held 6 meetings during the year with an average of 12 clubs represented at the meetings. The number attending was slightly up this year which is a good sign. However there are several clubs who regularly miss meetings and this is reflected in their clubs participation in Regional events.

The year began in January with the Tredstep dressage league There were 8 proposed legs of the league and all of them ran. Carne held the final and held their fun Team SJ competition on the same day.

This year again, we used our AIRC bursary for a Training day which we held in Wexford equestrian. Barnadown had been double booked and we are very grateful to Wexford Equestrian for stepping in at the last minute. It was a massive organisational feat with 7 trainers and over 80 taking part but was deemed to be a great success and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Despite the awful weather almost everyone turned up. Thanks again go to Louise O'Neill who put the very complicated timetable together. Again this year there was a greater demand for show jumping training than for dressage or cross country and this year again we had 3 SJ trainers. We had to charge a little extra as the venue was more expensive. However €40 is still very inexpensive for two lessons with top class international trainers. The bursary this year was €2000.00 and we made a small profit on the day.

There were 3 very enjoyable Summer Shows early in the year run by Warrington, Coole Lane, Ashwood. Clonmel also ran a Summer show with Derby at the end of the Summer. Summer shows are very popular and give a chance to everyone to compete, as not all our members are into Eventing. Unfortunately they are very expensive to run and require a lot of manpower. (sorry person power!!)

The Region ran the team SJ qualifier in Barnadown with 18 teams and Carne secured their place in the RDS. Coolbell were runners up and went for the wild card at the festival. Carne went on to take 4th place in the RDS

The Region also ran the Team dressage qualifier which was held in Wexford equestrian. 11 teams took part. The top 3 teams, Carne, TT&D and Coole Lane secured their places at the Championships. Unfortunately Coole Lane were unable to field a team when the Championships were on.

This year Celtic Equine Supplies again sponsored the Regional Horse Trials league. We made every effort to ensure that the company got as much publicity as possible. Unfortunately the league had only 6 scheduled legs due to timetable clashes and unavailable venues. Those clubs who ran, sent a report and /or photo into the Irish Field after their Event which hopefully gave Celtic Equine Supplies some level of publicity. The numbers were very low at the events and no event passed the 100 entries. The Region was scheduled to run the final leg of the league in Monart but the entries were so low that it was not possible to run.

We would like to thank Celtic Equine supplies sincerely for their sponsorship of prizes for the final of the League. It was very disappointing for them that for the second year in a row the final was cancelled.

This year Ballycanew could not run their mini event in Barnadown due to a clash of dates. This is always very successful and enjoyed by all, particularly as primary riders can take part Perhaps this is the way we need to go as full eventing venues are getting harder and harder to source.

This year the Autumn Show Jumping League was sponsored by Comfort Gut who very generously provided prizes for each leg of the league as well as the final. There was an average of 35 competitors attending each leg which was quite disappointing but the competition is strong particularly in the Intermediate, Advanced Primary and Primary classes. All clubs are making a small profit and although this is not why we run competitions it does help to encourage clubs to hold events

At National level the Region did very well as always. Many clubs bringing home rosettes and prizes in all Championships.

The Regional funds are looking a good deal healthier this year thanks to sponsorship and the running of Regional shows. Sponsorship is vital and our thanks go to those who have helped so much in securing sponsorship this year, Our PRO Lisa Rothwell is doing trojan work in this area.

Thank you to the National Committee who represent our views at National level; Melissa O'Connor, Dympna Gibbons and Sharon O'Connor.

As the Region gets stronger every year more and more help is needed and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped throughout the year. Our Chairperson Sharon O'Connor with her indefatigable energy; our grading Officer Sarah Jane Doyle whose job can be quite demanding; our PRO Lisa Rothwell who is doing a great job getting the word out there and assistant secretary Louise O'Neill who is a wizard with a spreadsheet.

As I am standing down as Secretary this year I would like to thank all those who have shown me such support and friendship throughout the years. I can't remember exactly how long it is, but it was certainly in the 80s when a group of us from clubs in the south east met up to try and encourage competition and interaction between local clubs. Perly handed me a copybook and a pen and said "you're a teacher, will you take some notes? "