Following a competitive procurement process carried out in 2022, the Irish Horse Board (IHB) was awarded the contract from 2023 to deliver marketing services for the Irish Sport Horse Sector in Ireland. The contract was issued for a term of one year with the right to extend the term for a period or periods of up to one year with a maximum of three such extensions.
As part of the procurement process, tenderers were required to provide a draft short term marketing plan with their submission for the sport horse sector for all relevant sport horse breeds to market and promote all aspects of the Irish sport horse nationally and internationally. The plans identified proposed initiatives, target markets, strategies, budgets and marketing channels in order to reach targeted goals.
In accordance with the contract with the successful tenderer, the IHB, formulated a final marketing plan which was agreed with my Department. This marketing plan was for a term of one year in line with the initial contact duration.
My officials met IHB on five occasions throughout 2023 via webex or in person as part of of the oversight in delivering the marketing plan to the Irish Sport Horse sector. Through these engagements, the IHB provided overviews of their interactions with stakeholders including recognised breed societies, auction houses, Failte Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, show organisers and breeders.
Following completion of year one and an extension of the contract for a further year, a second marketing plan was provided by IHB and agreed with my officials to the end of 2024. The first review meeting is to be held with officials later this month.
It is not intended to publish these marketing plans on my Department's website. However, my officials have received a copy of their industry report for 2023 and this will be made available on our website in due course.
