Canadian Owned Horse Not Eligible to Compete for Ireland?

Earlier this month, Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) announced that Jumping Team Manager Robert Splaine had chosen Gregory Broderick on MHS Going Global as the individual to represent Ireland in the Olympics in Rio this summer.

Recently, however, there have been questions about the horse’s ownership which is listed in the FEI database since 2012 as Caledonia Stables, which is a Leduc, Alberta company owned by Lee and Paul Kruger. While the FEI database lists Caledonia Stables as an Irish company, this information is entered by the National Federation, and in an interview with Horse-Canada.com, Lee Kruger confirmed that she does not have an Irish-based company. She did note, however, that according to her records Broderick owns 10% of all her horses, including MHS Going Global, though but she was not certain whether that ownership was registered with the FEI.

FEI rules require that horses be owned by a national from the country for which the animal is competing, “Horses entered for the equestrian events at the Olympic Games must have been registered with FEI as property of owners of the same nationality as the athlete, by 15 January 2016… It is the responsibility of the individual National Federation (HSI) to ensure the eligibility of all horse and rider combinations nominated to compete at the Olympic Games, including the ownership requirements, prior to submitting nominated entries to the FEI by 20 June. The FEI will only review nominated entries once they have been submitted.”

Despite these discrepancies, a spokesperson for Horse Sport Ireland told the Irish Independent that “HSI’s selection criteria for the Olympic Games included a clause on eligibility … As it stands, we are satisfied that all horses nominated in all three disciplines are eligible to compete.”

The decision to name Broderick to the team was a controversial from the start, as Broderick is currently ranked 252nd while several other ranked higher including: Bertram Allen in 10th, Dennis Lynch in 32nd, and Cian O’Connor in 58th.

National Federations have until June 20th to nominate athletes and horses at which time the FEI will validate the entries. Only those that meet the full criteria will be eligible to be entered for the Games.

For more details, read the latest post on The Cuckson Report.