The World Cup qualifier, which was due to be held at its traditional venue in Millstreet on November 4th, has been cancelled due to the continued withholding of Irish Sports Council funding.
The Co Cork fixture will still run the rest of its international schedule, but the cancellation of the qualifier will undoubtedly result in a drastically reduced foreign entry in Millstreet and will have a knock-on effect at the Cavan and Clare internationals which run over the following two weekends.
Millstreet show director Thomas Duggan contacted World Cup director Max Ammann at his Lausanne headquarters yesterday afternoon and informed him that the qualifier would not be held, despite last-minute negotiations last month to finalise agreement on outstanding franchise fees owing to the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). Television coverage on Eurosport had also been guaranteed.
Speaking from his home in Switzerland last night, Max Ammann confirmed the cancellation of the World Cup qualifier.
"Thomas Duggan called me and told me that the World Cup qualifier is not running and I accepted it", he said.
"But it's very bad for the sport in Ireland that one of your two major jumping events is cancelled."
Ammann did confirm, however, that the World Cup qualifier could return to Millstreet next year. "The rules allow that a show can come back into the calendar after one year, but if it is out for two years then they have to run a CSI (a non-World Cup international) for one year before they can re-apply for World Cup Status.
"They would then be treated like a new show and would have to go through the bidding process and the checking process."
The qualifier had been under threat until early last month, when agreement was reached between the Duggan family and the FEI on the payment of £25,000 in franchise fees for the 1998 and '99 World Cup shows. Thomas Duggan had paid out £7,000 of that, leaving £18,000 outstanding, which was the sum the Duggans had expected to be allocated from Sports Council funding in 1998.
The FEI offered a reduction of £5,000 to the Duggans and a deal was finally hammered out in mid-September.
The ISC had withheld funding from the Show Jumping Association of Ireland in 1998 due to continuing controversy over the SJAI accounts. Funding was restored in 1999, but has again been withheld this year while the ISC awaits confirmation that the SJAI house has been put in order.
The restoration of funding for 2000 was due to be discussed at an ISC meeting in Dublin last week, but was deferred until November 7th, three days after the World Cup qualifier was due to be held in Millstreet. With no guarantee of funding, the Duggan family has now made the regrettable decision to cancel the World Cup qualifier.
Thomas Duggan declined to comment on the matter last night, other than to confirm that the qualifier will not be held.
