Secretary's Report 2018
SECRETARY'S REPORT
Annual General Meeting 2018
AIRC SOUTH EAST REGION
This is only a short and very general overview. Apologies to any club or person I have left out.
There were 20 clubs registered in the Region this year. We welcomed the Rower as a new club to the Region. We held 7 meetings during the year with an average of 13 clubs represented at the meetings. The
number attending was slightly up this year which is a good sign. However there are several clubs who regularly miss meetings and this is reflected in their clubs participation in Regional
events.
The year began in January with 2 very successful dressage Training days. One in the north of the region with Pippa Tegan and one in the South with Sarah Jane Doyle. These training days covered their own costs
and allowed for a good lead into the Dressage League. There were 8 proposed legs of the league but unfortunately due to the extremely bad weather only 5 of them were able to run. Carne did manage to hold the final and held their fun Team SJ competition on the same day.
This year again, we used our AIRC bursary for a Training day held in Barnadown. It was a massive organisational feat with 7 trainers and over 80 taking part but was deemed to be a great success and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Thanks again go to Louise O'Neill who put the very complicated timetable together. There was a much greater demand for show jumping training than for dressage or cross country and this year again we had 3 SJ trainers. The bursary this year was €2000.00 and consequently we made a small profit on the day.
There were 4 very enjoyable Summer Shows early in the year run by Warrington, Coole Lane, Treegrove and Ashwood. Clonmel also ran a Summer show with Derby at the end of the Summer. Summer shows are very popular and give a chance to everyone to compete, as not all our members are into Eventing. Unfortunately they are very expensive to run and require a lot of manpower. (sorry person power!!)
This year Ballycanew ran a mini event in Barnadown. This was very successful and enjoyed by all, particularly as primary riders could take part and it was very well supported It was a great introduction to eventing and hopefully it will run again next year.
Warrington ran the team SJ qualifier with 18 teams and TT&D secured their place in the RDS. Carne were runners up and went for the wild card at the festival. They won at the festival and went forward to the RDS as well. We had 2 teams therefore in the RDS which made the competition very exciting. Both clubs acquitted themselves very well. Carne coming 3rd and Thomastown 7th.
This year Celtic Equine Supplies sponsored the Regional Horse Trials league. We made every effort to ensure that the company got as much publicity as possible. The league had 8 scheduled legs but due to
the unusually hot and dry summer many were postponed and/or didn't manage to run. Those clubs who managed to run, sent a report and /or photo into the Irish Field after their Event which hopefully gave Celtic Equine Supplies some level of publicity. The numbers were very low at the events that did run and no event passed the 100 entries. The Region ran a leg of the league in Ballintober and all clubs in the Region helped out. Each club was responsible for stewarding and sponsoring a XC fence. Some clubs got company sponsorship, others sponsored the fence themselves. It was great to see the Region pulling together and the day was successful. Liz Deegan ran a raffle and that raised some extra funds. However without the raffle and the sponsorship there would have been minimal profit.
We would like to thank Celtic Equine supplies sincerely for their sponsorship of the League. They sponsored prizes at each event and the clubs purchased their own rosettes. The League prizes should have been presented at the last event in Nuenna Farm but unfortunately this event was cancelled as the number of entries was too low. The prizes were presented before the AGM here tonight. In hindsight it would have been better if we had finished the League at the Regional event as once the National Championships are over so is the eventing.
On the International front TT&D represented the AIRC at the British Riding Clubs championships in Linconshire. They did extremely well and came 4th in the team competition. The club has had an amazing year also winning both the team Dressage championships and the National Horse trials team championships.
This year the Autumn Show Jumping League in October and November is still in progress and is proving to be very successful. There is an average of 50 competitors attending each leg and the competition is strong particularly in the Intermediate and Advanced primary classes. All clubs are making a small profit and although this is not why we run competitions it does help to encourage clubs to hold events. The final of the competition is being sponsored by Killeen's Equestrian store and we are very lucky to have them on board
At National level the Region did very well as always. Many clubs bringing home rosettes and prizes in all Championships.
The Regional funds are looking a good deal healthier this year thanks to sponsorship and the running of Regional shows. Sponsorship is vital and our thanks go to those who have helped so much in securing sponsorship this year, particularly Carne Riding club. Our PRO Lisa Rothwell is doing trojan work in order to secure more sponsorship for next year.
Thank you to the National Committee who represent our views at National level; Melissa O'Connor, Dympna Gibbons and Sharon O'Connor.
As the Region gets stronger every year more and more help is needed and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped throughout the year. Our Chairperson Sharon O'Connor with her indefatigable energy; our grading Officer Sarah Jane Doyle whose job can be quite demanding; our PRO Lisa Rothwell who is doing a great job getting the word out there and assistant secretary
Louise O'Neill who is a wizard with a spreadsheet. The support of club secretaries is of course as always invaluable.