The Irish Cob Society
Established the first Irish Cob Studbook in Ireland in 1998
The Irish Cob Studbook
When in 1998, the Irish Cob Society established the first breed studbook for the feathered cob created in Ireland by Irish Travellers, the Irish Cob Society named the studbook the Irish Cob Studbook. In 1998, the Irish Cob Society was officially approved by the Department of Agriculture in Ireland (henceforth 'the Department') in accordance with Article 2(1) of Decision 92/353/EEC to maintain its Irish Cob Studbook as an EU-recognised studbook in respect of which the Irish Cob Society was therefore authorised to issue the identification document (passport) established in Decision 93/623/EEC and subsequently as amended in Decision 2000/68/EC, and subsequently to issue identification documents (passports) and the 'organisation or association officially approved by the Member State' referred to in Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) 504/2008 (which repealed Decisions 93/623/EEC and 2000/68/EC).
Because the Irish Cob Studbook which the Irish Cob Society established was the first studbook in the European Union (EU) for the breed, the Department also notified the European Commission in 1998 that the Irish Cob Society was regarded as the body (organisation or association) which maintained the Irish Cob Studbook as the studbook of the origin of the breed (aka the 'mother' Irish Cob Studbook)—as referred in 2(2)2nd indent of Decision 92/353/EEC.
At no time was the ownership of the Irish Cob Studbook (the studbook of the origin of the breed) transferred to the Department, or to the Minister, or to Horse Sport Ireland (or to any other party) by the Irish Cob Society, or by a court. The Irish Cob Studbook (the studbook of origin of the breed), which the Department approved Horse Sport Ireland to maintain, is therefore not the property of the Department, or the Minister, or Horse Sport Ireland.
Establishment of the Irish Cob Studbook
Horse Sport Ireland
This HSI tampering passport link is a link to a 2018 Facebook reel in which Mr Joe Flaherty TD—following an article published in the Irish Field—brought to the attention of the Minister the Horse Sport Ireland illegal practice of sticking labels in passports issued by Horse Sport Ireland, changing the food chain status of equines from not suitable for slaughter for human consumption to suitable for human consumption. However, the Department 'turned a blind eye' to this illegal practice carried out by Horse Sport Ireland, not only by allowing Horse Sport Ireland to continue issuing passports, but also by allowing Horse Sport Ireland to continue maintaining the Irish Cob Society's Irish Cob Studbook (the studbook of the origin of the breed).
This Lack of HSI governance link above is a link to a 2026 Facebook reel in which Senator Joe Flaherty raised his concerns in the Dail (at Government level) regarding the lack of Horse Sport Ireland governance and repeated acts of Horse Sport Ireland apparent misconduct while being funded millions by the Department, and while Horse Sport Ireland applied for Department tendering contracts worth millions—including public studbook services contracts which includes two studbook (the Irish Cob Studbook and Part Bred Irish Cob Studbook) which are not Minister-owned studbook (nor therfore public studbook services) because those studbooks were established (and are therefore owned) by the Irish Cob Society (and are therefore private studbook services).
The Department
This Refusal of fake ICS approval link explains how the Department made the national regulations (S.I 357/2011) in which section 4(1)(b) of the 2011 Regulations made it appear (including a High Court judge in 2013) that the Irish Cob Studook (the studbook of origin of the breed) is a Minister-owned (official department established) studbook that the Department had the right to take from the Irish Cob Society in 2012 and approve Horse Sport Ireland to mainain.
The Irish Horse Industry
This Industry crash on 1 July 2009 link explains how the Department's failure to make new national regulations that would correctly transpose Regulation (EC) 504/2008 caused an unexpectedly crash in the Irish Horse Industry on 1 July 2009 as a result of the Department 'instructing’ the passport issuing organisations (PIOs) to endorse Section IX of equine identification documents (passports) as ‘not suitable for human consumption' from 1 July 2009 in respect of all equines born up to 30 June 2009 (before 1 July 2009).
Were you affected by the crash?
If you were affected by the unexpected crash in the Irish Horse Industry on 1 July 2009 and/or disagree with how the Department handled the application of Regulation (EC) 504/2008, you can email us with a view to having the responsible Department officials held accountable as a united front.