Irish Field Editorial (11/05/13)

Comment from Sascha Geraghty (Editor, Irish Horse World, The Irish Field)

A new era for Irish-bred horses

There were welcome scenes in Adare this week at the meeting of the Traditional Irish Horse Assocation and Horse Sport Ireland who have now secured the landmark identification of traditionally-bred Irish horses in passports.

As a result of this Association's stalwart efforts, Irish-bred horses with three recorded generations of thoroughbred, Irish Draught and/or Connemara lines will now be identified as ISH-Traditional in three locations in their passports.

Passport recognition for the traditional Irish-bred horse has long been sought and its achievement is the culmination of tireless work from the hard-working members of the TIHA, many of whose names are synonymous with the very best of Irish-bred horses.

In recent years, continental sires have enjoyed favour and while of course there is something to be said for injecting athleticism and scope into our horses to meet today's increasingly technical tracks at top events, the traditional Irish horse is simply renowned the world over for its key qualities such as good temperament, bone and substance.

Overseas buyers continue to flock to top sport horse sales houses such as Goresbridge and CAvan to find quality Irish-bred horses - with the main complaint being that there are not enough of the right ones to be found.

We applaud and support the efforts of the TIHA in their continued effort to promote the timeless Irish-bred horse and its unbeatable attributes.