Irish Horse Board needs  to get serious about Marketing   The Irish Horse is not seen in US competition except for the few who make it to the top.   Maybe the biggest hindrance to marketing the Irish Horse is the lack of visibility in the American open competition arena.  A shamrock on a saddle pad is virtually non-existent.   To be aware of an Irish Horse Competing, one must get to the Grand Prix Jumping Arena.  It is at that level of competition that the pedigree of a horse like Ado Annie is known. Even in the case of Ado Annie, Clover Leaf, Pinon Muldoon and many others there were no Shamrocks on the saddle pad.     Other than the grand prix competitions in jumping,  “Irish bred” horses get almost no recognition.   The term “Irish bred” is also very limiting.   To most it means the horse was conceived in Ireland.  Many believe the Irish rejoice in the term because they feel it signals a person must travel to Ireland to get a good competition horse.  (The term became popular when jockeys like David O`Conner decided to ignore the pedigree of his Gold Medal horse and called him an Irish Thoroughbred. Complaints were made to magazines like the Chronicle of the horse.  To avoid too much work in understanding Irish horses the Chronicle decided to call all Irish horses "Irish Bred")     This certainly is in sharp contrast to the marketing approach of horse breeders living on the Continent.  First nearly every continental bred horse has a way of being identified in the American competition arena.   The horse is not identified as a German Bred.  Instead it is identified as a Holsteiner, Dutch Warmblood or from whatever breed registry the horse is registered.   Instead of calling horses Irish Bred they should be called Irish Sport Horses or Irish half breds or Irish Hunters or Irish Draught.         When one notices a Continental Warmblood because of either a brand or saddle pad emblem in an American competition arena the observer notices only the breed.  The observer doesn't wonder if the horse was conceived in Europe or America.  The Warmbloods are as much a part of the American Breeding system as they are part of the German or Dutch system.    There is credibility because the sport horse enthusiasts believe the continental breed registry is worldwide.   The continental breeders also know  Americans will continue traveling to the continent simply because of the competitive spirit.   Good competitors are always looking for the “best” horse.   The shipping cost is not an issue when one can afford to buy the best.     Ireland must deal with the problem that the Irish Horse is not seen in the lower level competitions in America.  In the open amateur competitions it is not Irish Horses competing.  The Irish rightfully claim the Irish Sport Horse especially those with Irish Draught in the pedigree are great for the amateur classes. Unfortunately the marketing theme of Irish horses being amateur horses has backfired.  There are those who compete in amateur classes at horse shows and then there are amateurs who have never been out of their backyard with a horse.  The biggest community of Irish Horse owners in America is a community of backyard amateurs.    Many are backyard riders and breeders who have never competed in a recognized show.  They talk about how easy it is to lead the horse from the barn to the back yard lot.   Some breeders claim they have a farm and when one checks the farm address it on a 100 ' X100` lot, with no barn, in a large city.   When the horse is taken to a halter class event it may be presented in a pink nylon halter.  These amateurs may publish pictures of youngsters being tied to a trailer with a stud chain around the nose.   The Horse Board has closely affiliated with an American Draught Society that is filled with persons who will never get horses out of the back yard.  In fact backyard amateurs who assault persons that dare enter open competitions run the American Society.  Maybe the blessing comes when occasionally one of these amateurs stumbles into an open competition arena there is no Shamrock on the pad.    Shamrock or no Shamrock, it is time for the Irish Horse Board to get a grip on its marketing plan.    The Board must get past the first level plan of promoting sales at Cavan.  It must get past not giving horses credit for the genetic index if the horse or its offspring compete outside of Ireland.  The Board must get beyond only giving credit to the genetic index for showjumping accomplishment  It must move beyond show jumping.   It must help serious competitors. The Horse Board needs to seek out the professional American competitor and offer incentives to compete Irish Horses.   The Horse Board must seek out serious amateur competitors and offer incentives.  The Board must understand marketing and sales though joined are not the same.    The sale gets rid of the horse; marketing gets the horse a good reputation.   Only when the Irish horse is in the arena will top of mind awareness develop for the Irish Horse.  A marketing strategy is much more than a horse auction.  Maybe the Board should send out shamrocks for saddle pads to all members of the coop.   The board should send a shamrock to any competitor on an Irish Horse who wins a class.     The Horse Board should support competition clinics in the US where the clinician is a highly regarded Irish Professional.   It should send Robert Splaine to the US to teach clinics.   There are many like Splaine that could do wonders for the Irish Horse image in America.   Germans have been setting up clinics for years in America.  As the result American riders have developed a German eye for horses.  Germans can quickly convince an American an Irish Horse is not right for them.  The eye can be trained.   At the present time the Irish are not the trainers.   This training (called marketing) should be the marketing plan for the Irish Horse Board. by Jim Leary Home Page