Irish Sport Horse Studbook Young Breeders Compete at the World Championships
The World Breeding Federation of Sport Horses, World Championship of International Young Breeders, took place at ‘Stadl Paura Pferdezentrum’ in Austria on the 19th and 20th of July. One hundred and forty one individual competitors representing 19 Studbooks competed. Nineteen senior (20-25yrs) teams and eighteen junior teams (16-19yrs) were fielded. A maximum of four individuals within an age class may represent a given Studbook, with the three best scores counting towards team score.
The competition itself comprises of 5 elements (Theory exam; Assessment of Athleticism – jump and movement; Assessment of Conformation; and Presentation of a horse in hand). An additional element is turnout of a horse as a team which is not part of the overall team ranking scores.
The Irish Sport Horse Studbook entered both a junior team (Ellie Duggan; Michelle Dunne; Dan Geaney and Edward Hennessy) and a senior team (Sarah Brashaw; Amy Finn; Nicole Groyer and Conor Mahon). Against some very stiff competition Amy Finn finished 8th rank overall in the senior age category (72 competitors), and 8th position in the discipline of conformation. Michelle Dunne ranked 5th in the discipline of ‘In Hand Presentation’, following a professional delivery of her skills against 68 other competitors in the junior age class.
The German Hanoverian Studbook were outright winners of both age classes and overall World Champions. The Austrian AWÖ Studbook and event team leader Verena Nowak provided a warm welcome and a great show of Austrian culture and tradition as part of the overall event. The World Championship will take place in Holland (KWPN Studbook) in 2021.
Wendy Conlon, equine specialist with Teagasc and team manager of the Irish Young Breeders said; “Immense credit goes to all of the team members who picked up a special award commending their team spirit and fair play principles from the organisers.”
The ISH Young Breeders Programme is a joint programme between Teagasc and Horse Sport Ireland’s Irish Sport Horse Studbook aimed at those aged 14-25 years of age who are interested in assessing, exhibiting and breeding performance horses. The programme is supported by the many professional farms which open their gates permitting their horses to be scrutinised. Trainers Tiernan Gill, Jack Doyle, Andrew Hughes and Philip Scott provide a fountain of knowledge.
Director of breeding and programmes in Horse Sport Ireland Alison Corbally said ‘The Irish Sport Horse Studbook is delighted to financially support the training and travel for this team of Young Breeders as it is an exceptional opportunity to learn new skills and meet like-minded young breeders from abroad. These contacts will no doubt be very useful in the future.”
For all Young Breeders interested in the 2020 programme please visit www.teagasc.ie/youngbreeders