An overall lack of funding for the sport horse industry was the main theme of the recent Traditional Irish Horse Association (TIHA) annual general meeting held recently in Portlaoise.

However, for an organisation ran on a shoestring budget (audited costs showed its expenditure for the previous 12 months was a modest €3,335, derived mainly from membership fees and a stallion auction), it punched above its weight in both the number of events and amount of publicity generated. Tributes were also paid to the late Lady Anne Hemphill, Jack Powell, Liam Meade and Billy Cotter, all supporters of traditional breeding. One of the Association’s success stories is its Hunter Show & Go, with 59 horses sold, including follow-up sales of 32 hunters to Holland.