Brexit, Covid create perfect racing storm
‘We are facing into toughest year ever’
THERE WAS a concerted sigh of relief among everybody involved in the equine industry when a Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union was eventually cobbled together at the eleventh hour, but the realisation has quickly set in that many changes with major implications are going to have to be implemented.
The new arrangements for the export and import of horses, and the transport of horses to Britain for races, are far from simple and will involve a great deal of additional time and expense.
I had a briefing chat with Brendan Walsh, assistant trainer to Colin Bowe and the man responsible for all the office administration at Bowe’s Milestone operation at Kiltealy, an outfit well used to regular trips to the UK sales.
He pulled no punches in his assessment: ‘We are all facing into the toughest year we have ever had; dealing with Brexit would have been bad enough but when you add in Covid at the same time it creates a perfect storm.
‘There is potential for absolute chaos and there will definitely be a lot of extra costs involved. 2021 will be a year of headaches and nervous apprehension and an enormous amount of extra paperwork.’
This will impact at all levels and every aspect of the industry from those sending horses to race in Britain and farther afield, bringing horses to the sales and bringing home purchases and non-sellers, to mares being brought here for breeding purposes, etc.
The major operations like Ballydoyle/Coolmore, Jim Bolger, Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott will have the manpower and the resources to cope, but the smaller stables and breeders will certainly be under pressure.
Nowhere will the impact be more keenly felt than in the county’s thriving point-to-point sector, where quick access to the top British sales after initial success has been secured here has been a key to its smooth running.
Handlers who only bring a couple over to the sales each year will find it particularly difficult.
Realistically, the usual schedule of sales in Britain is likely to be seriously disrupted for the early months of this year at least, and the number of Irish runners at British tracks is likely to be seriously reduced as well.
Surely it must be worth considering holding some of the major sales here in Ireland, perhaps with online bidding; some of the leading British owners, agents and trainers would be well geared to cope with the additional paperwork and red tape.
However, as Brendan Walsh said, the sales are not just about turning up and putting your horse in the ring.
The day or two before the sale is when much of the groundwork is done, networking with likely buyers and promoting your wares. The human and personal touch is of great importance.
This is especially true of the major boutique sales at the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals where the great and the good are already assembled in the location anyway, a captive audience.
The Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued a trader notice for those intending to move horses to and through Britain and it runs to eight dense pages of instructions and advice, with lots of alphabet soup to baffle the uninitiated like myself.
On my count there are at least eleven individual steps to be taken for each horse to be exported, in addition to registering with Revenue because there will be custom duty and VAT obligations when dealing with a non-EU country, which is what the UK now is.
It will be necessary to employ an agent both here and in Britain to deal with fulfilling Customs requirements for each horse movement, and this will not be cheap.
As Walsh points out, it used to be that if you were sending a number of horses over they could be treated as one consignment; now all the procedures have to be completed for every animal.
And on top of all that, Covid protocols, including potential travel restrictions and quarantining and self-isolation on both sides of the Irish Sea, will impact local staff travelling with the horses. If you don’t sell – and it would be rare enough to dispose of every animal brought over – getting your horse back to Ireland won’t be that simple either.
The Horse Racing Ireland website says: ‘From January 1, horses are no longer able to move freely between Ireland and Britain, and through Britain (to France and the Continent). There will be extra certification needed to move horses and these movements will take place through a Border Inspection Post at which, at a minimum, there will be documentary checks...
‘In essence, this will inevitably mean extra cost to your business through increased veterinary costs for certifications, and the engaging of logistics companies to handle the international travel and Customs requirements.
‘If you plan to move horses for racing, sales, or breeding purposes, you should be registered with the Dept of Agriculture and Revenue.
‘You should also be in communication with your private veterinary practitioner in relation to the extra certification that will be required.
‘You will also need to understand who will carry out the various roles in the transporting of your horses and the Customs duties that will be attached to it.
‘In addition you are required to give advance notice to Great Britain on their new import system, IPAFFS. It is important to note that you must have a UK-based agent to submit this notification because EU-based operators will not be able to register for this system.
‘Customs duty consideration will be a significant issue that will generate additional administrative requirements and potential costs that previously have not applied to the movement of horses to and from the UK.
‘These matters should be considered in advance of moving a horse cross border.
‘There are also potentially significant issues which transporters should consider with three news certificates required. GB, including Northern Ireland, will not accept EU-issued versions of these documents.’
The Department of Agriculture here is working to draft a Bipartite Agreement, for consideration by Northern Ireland, to enable free movement of all horses on the island of Ireland.
This would be particularly important for the survival of the Northern Ireland race tracks and also the many point-to-point meetings up there which depend greatly on the participation of southern-based horses.
This is only a brief resume of the new reality facing the equine sports industry.
Brendan Walsh says people just have to make themselves aware of what is involved and seek whatever advice and help they need; it will get easier as people get used to it but closing the eyes and hoping it will all go away just will not work.
More detailed information is available on HRI. ie and from www.p2p.ie