Irlanda y los Caballos

Horses

Horse production in Ireland can be divided into thoroughbred, sport and racing industries.

The thoroughbred side of the industry involves breeding and training for flat and national hunt racing. It is one of the few international businesses where a domestic Irish industry has attained a world-class status. In 2000 Irish bred horses won 30 Group/Grade 1 races around the world.

There are over 32,000 thoroughbred horses in Ireland including 4, 250 in training. There has been a growth of 10, 000 in 20 years. In 1980 a quarter of the total equine stock were thoroughbreds. This has almost doubled. There are four main reasons for this growth. Firstly the expertise of the people. Secondly, Ireland has a strong tradition of rearing and breeding. Thirdly, there are numerous areas in Ireland with suitable soil and physical conditions for breeding (such as the Golden Vale region, Meath and Kildare). Finally, the temperate climate is suitable for the breeding of horses.

Ireland produces more thoroughbred foals than any other EU Member State. On a global basis, Ireland is the fourth largest producer of thoroughbred foals. Yearly Irish horse sales average just under €90m.

Mares & stallions

Annual expenditure for the industry is over €190m. Total exports of the sector are valued at almost €127m annually. As imports are low, the sector makes a strong net contribution to the Irish balance of payments.

The racing industry is dependent on breeding and training. Race meetings are an important contributor to the Irish economy. The sector has seen dramatic increases in all areas over the last number of years. Attendance has been rising steadily and averages 1.35 million a year. Contributing to this are the 55, 000 foreigners who attend Irish racecourses annually. Prize money is valued at over €30m; sponsorship has reached the €6.4 mark and on-course betting stands at €138m per year.

There has also been an increase in the number of racing fixtures and as for the off-course betting it's turnover is a colossal €1200m.

Sport horses are horses used for competitions like show jumping and events, for shows and for leisure such as trail riding or trekking. The sport horse industry contributes in excess of €127m to the Irish economy. The leisure section is also expanding especially riding clubs for adults. There are over 200 clubs in the country. Equestrian holidays are now becoming an important part of the tourist industry with up to 100,000 tourists spending approximately €64m on equestrian pursuits annually.

Potentially the market for sport horses is world wide with sport horses being exported to places as far away as Australia and California. However the UK is our main market with mainland Europe being the second most important.

The market opportunities for our top competition horses is not a problem, Ireland has been the leading breeding nation for the event horse for the past six years. However it is difficult to market the other horses unless they are properly trained and produced in a manner suitable for the customer.

In employment the thoroughbred sector is labour-intensive and makes an important contribution to employment generation in rural areas of Ireland. The industry is directly responsible for 6,500 jobs and indirectly responsible for close to 5,000 other full-time jobs through its links to other sectors. These include: sectors which provide services to thoroughbred breeders, such as veterinarians, farriers, saddlers or other equipment manufacturers; the Irish horseracing sector, which is dependent on thoroughbred breeders for its core product. This sector itself supports Irish betting sector and has a growing tourism dimension. The sport horse industry employs 12,000 people. Taking into consideration part-time and seasonal employment the total sector employment comes to 32,000.