Sport horse groups face legal action

A new sport horse breeding body is suing established rivals in the High Court alleging they used positions in various markets to hinder its business.

Studbook Development Ireland Ltd, trading as Warmblood Studbook of Ireland (WSI), is the legally and Government-approved body to manage the studbook for the Irish Warmblood horse, a new breed used in showjumping and other activities.

Court filings show that WSI is suing Horse Sport Ireland (HSI), the Irish Horse Board (IHB) and the Irish Shows Association, along with individuals involved those organisations, claiming among other things, that they abused dominant positions in different markets, a breach of competition law, to its disadvantage.

The organisation maintains that the IHB and HSI are associated. HSI operates maintains the studbook for the Irish Sport Horse, the breed mainly used in showjumping and other events here, acts as the Republic’s national equestrian federation, Olympic council, provides funding and runs competitions.

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Studbook operators earn income from registration fees paid by breeders and by issuing passports for horses, required by EU regulations and needed to identify them so they can take part in competitions and events.

Among other things, WSI maintains that HSI continues to prevent it from affiliating to the organisation, despite repeated requests dating from 2013.

A HSI constitution adopted this year created a new Breeding and Production Advisory Forum, to which WSI is entitled to nominate two individuals.

However, that constitution also requires that forum members must be HSI affiliate representatives. As WSI is not affiliated to HSI, it cannot become a member of the advisory forum, the statement of claim argues.

“By virtue of this marginalisation of WSI, HSI ensured that its dominant position in the sport horse industry and the sport horse services market would be protected,” Studbook Development Ireland Ltd alleges.

The organisation says that HSI’s refusal to allow it affiliate among prevented it from expanding its market and to compete against HSI in the market for studbook services.

Up to 2022, HSI prevented Irish warmbloods from taking part in the Studbook Series showjumping and eventing competitions, essential to the development of the plaintiff’s business. WSI is seeking damages for this.

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HSI opened those competitions to Irish warmbloods in a series of reforms that followed an EU Commission Competition Directorate investigation prompted by a complaint from Studbook Development Ireland Ltd in 2018.

As a result, the Department of Agriculture agreed with the EU to stop paying State aid to HSI, which Studbook Development Ireland calculates amounted to €5.2 million a year.

The department also agreed to offer for tender management of five studbooks administered by HSI on its behalf, along with breeding schemes and marketing. HSI won the tender to run the Irish Sport Horse Studbook.

In a separate action, Studbook Development Ireland maintains that the Irish Shows Association (ISA) is the dominant player in agricultural shows that include equine competitions, which WSI argues are “indispensable” to organisations that manage studbooks.

The group says the association has denied it access to these competitions while allowing this to rivals. While warmbloods can now compete in all-Ireland competitions, WSI says in its action that they cannot do so in events run by the ISA’s local affiliates.

The ISA said it would not comment on the claims. Neither the IHB nor HSI responded to a request for comment.

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