State-funded equestrian body sues department over contract loss

The national governing body for equestrian sports is taking legal action against the Department of Agriculture after losing out in a bid to win a State contract to provide marketing services to promote the industry.

Horse Sport Ireland (HSI), the governing body for equestrian sport, is a company that receives significant department funding. It also runs a number of stud books, which are a register of horses of a certain breed that make income from registration fees paid by horse owners and by supplying horse passports.

A rival company, Warmblood Studbook of Ireland, previously made a complaint to the European Commission in 2018, alleging the department’s funding to HSI amounted to illegal State aid and gave it an unfair advantage over other stud books.

The commission had been investigating the claims over recent years, corresponding with both the department and Warmblood stud book.

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Early last December the commission proposed to close its inquiry, as the department had committed to run an open competition for several of the services HSI had been funded to provide.

In February the department advertised three State contracts, seeking bidders to run stud book services, a national equine breeding service, and to provide marketing services for the sector.

While the department has not publicly announced the winners of the contracts, the successful companies were informed in recent weeks.

One HSI source said the company won the contracts for the stud books and the breeding service but lost out on the marketing contract to promote Irish bred horses and breeders and the wider industry.

The contract to provide marketing services was awarded to the Irish Horse Board, a membership organisation for horse breeders, which is an affiliate of HSI.

Despite the connection of the two organisations, HSI has sought to take a legal challenge over the outcome of the procurement process for the marketing contract.

The estimated value of the disputed contract was upwards of €3 million, according to procurement documents.

HSI lodged papers in the High Court late last week seeking to take a judicial review of the decision to award the contract elsewhere. HSI is represented by Dublin-based Herbots, solicitors who specialise in procurement law.

HSI received more than €7 million in public funding in 2020, from the Department of Agriculture, Sport Ireland, and the Department of Tourism, according to its most recent annual report.

In a statement, HSI confirmed it was taking a judicial review against the department “regarding the provision of marketing services for the sport horse sector in Ireland”.

“Regrettably, Horse Sport Ireland has been left with no alternative to initiate this action given the concerns arising in respect of the evaluation process run by the department,” it said.

The company said as the matter was now before the courts it could not comment further.

The Department of Agriculture did not respond to requests for comment on the legal action from HSI and the European Commission’s previous investigation into claims its funding of the company amounted to unfair State aid.