why do we have an army equitation team ?

Markcheese wrote: »

Is it actually any use to the army ?? Great as they are.. Apart from a heritage thing... could the the money be better spent else where...
Or is it just something the governent wants and ups the budget by that amount..

They were pretty much set up to showcase Irish bloodlines in horses (which would drive business in the national stud and other places).

Nowadays they have horses that aren't just Irish bred.

CelticRambler wrote: »

Tuning in from abroad to discussion in Ireland (via Boards, Joe Duffy, Marian Finucane, Newstalk, etc) about funds being "wasted" or "better used elsewhere", it's obvious that a great number of people in Ireland haven't a clue as to the enormous return on investment they get for the relatively modest amount of tax that goes into these "showcase" activities.

It's also nice for Ireland to be known for something other than Guinness. :rolleyes:

They now use a mix of horses, whereas before it was just Irish bloodlines.

tac foley wrote: »

HMTQ is extraordinarily fond of her Irish horses, with good reason. Besides which, EVERY army that calls itself an army has an equitation team. Look up the results of the last few Olympic Games and international competitions and see where the riders learned their skills.

Besides all that, there is the cachet of being able to call yourself 'captain' so-and-so if you are/were an army rider - usually the post-service rank 'titles' used by some sad old farts begins at major.

Captain Mark 'Foggy' Phillips - former husband of TPR - is called captain for this reason.

tac

interestingly two members of the italian team that won the Aga Khan trophy last week were italian army but they were enlisted not officers. which i thought was a bit odd.

tac foley wrote: »

Why is that odd? In most armies enlisted men outnumber officers, oh, let's say fifteen to one. In the British Army there a goodly number of military personnel who ride horses as part of their ceremonial duties - the Household Cavalry, for example, as well as the King's Troop RHA.

Naturally good hands with a horse do not depend on the rank, but on the person.

tac

well we're not talking about cavalry troopers. that not the same thing at all. Even the example you gave for the british army equitation team was a captain.
I was just basing it on what i know of our equitation team. they always seem to be officers. must be just an Irish thing.

tac foley wrote: »

Every soldier who gets up on a horse as part of his military duties has to attend the Army School of Equitation and learn by falling off. Anybody who shows a natural bent for riding is encouraged to become competitive in the sport. I'll do a bit of digging around and see who's who and let you know.

However, I was unaware that the PDF actually had ANY mounted ceremonial troops like the British do, apart from the mounted trumpeter I recall seeing as a child in Dublin . The Household Cavalry, of course, has a routine need to train horsemen - officers AND enlisted, and this must be part of why some people actually join the Household Cavalry in the fust place. Needless to say, the British Army has a number of cavalry regiments, in tanks these days, but with a long tradition of going into battle on horses - many of the British Army's teams have had personnel from the numerous cavelry regiments where horses are part of the landscape.

tac

we dont have dual-role cavalry so we dont need an equitation school that trains cavalry. Our equitation school seems to concentrate on equestrian competitions. All our riders seem to be officers as well. http://www.military.ie/education-hq/equitation-school/riding-officer-profiles/

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

we dont have dual-role cavalry so we dont need an equitation school that trains cavalry. Our equitation school seems to concentrate on equestrian competitions. All our riders seem to be officers as well.

Hmmm, hardly the egalitarianism one expects of a Republic.:rolleyes:

Only kidding.

Anyhow, only the Household Division - Blues and Royals - actually carry out the ceremonial bit, all the other donkey wallopers just do the usual leisure time horsey stuff - hunting, p2p hacking and so on, like the rest of us hoi-polloi.

Remember that the household division are also real soldiers with real soldiery skills. CoH Craig Harrison of the Blues and Royals earned himself the title of the world's longest effective sniper in A'stan back in 2009, plotzing a machine-gun team of talibs at about 2.5 Km with his trusty .338LM.

tac

MM - I had the choice of being an officer OR a gentleman. In the end, and after a lot of thinking, I decided to be an officer. I always tried to be polite in my dealings with other people, and that's about a gentlemanly as it got.

Never ridden a horse, though. Them things got NO brakes, y'know?

tac

The DF would sacrifice anything except the "Pony Club". Personally, I think it's alleged value to the State is dubious; the average stud farm probably contributes more in taxes and the State probably gets more from the races at the Curragh....it's like the Cav. The DF never had any Cavalry tradition yet our armoured car operators wear a funny hat and refer to themselves as Troopers. A tradition based on nothing.

realitykeeper wrote: »

I think the army should be given more pay and training to play scabs and break strike action in certain parts of the civil service/public sector but they should not be sent on foreign assignments that have no benefit to Ireland.

And which foreign assignments would you see as having no benefit to Ireland?

4ensic15 wrote: »

It doesn't have a full Colonel as CO. Itr has a half Colonel.
http://www.theirishfield.ie/lt-col-freyne-takes-charge-at-army-equitation-school-210216/

It did in the 90's when I was serving, must have changed since,

John_D80 wrote: »

And which foreign assignments would you see as having no benefit to Ireland?

All of them. Sure they get more pay for foreign assignments but it it would be better if they got more pay for domestic assignments instead. Apart from potential goodwill, it is difficult to see any gains to be got from foreign assignments. Besides, resentment and hostility toward Ireland from such missions are just as likely as goodwill.

realitykeeper wrote: »

All of them. Sure they get more pay for foreign assignments but it it would be better if they got more pay for domestic assignments instead. Apart from potential goodwill, it is difficult to see any gains to be got from foreign assignments. Besides, resentment and hostility toward Ireland from such missions are just as likely as goodwill.

You managed to be so vague and broad that you didn't really answer the question or even give examples of what you are trying to say.

With regard to your point about pay, you do know that for most overseas missions undertaken by the Defence Forces, the majority bill/cost is footed by agencies/organisations such as the UN etc, don't you? Not all I'll admit, but most.

Personally myself I have seen first hand the gains gotten from foreign assignments in the countless lives that have been safeguarded by the good work overseas of Irish men and women. Ask the thousdands of people that were pulled out of the Mediteranean recently by my comrades in the Naval Service.

Oh but wait, did you mean that because we as a nation (ie: you) don't directly benefit then we should just let those less fortunate than us to starve/die/be persecuted? **delete as appropriate**

And for your info, resentment/hostility towards Ireland as a nation is nowhere near as likely as gratitude and goodwill.

We as a civilised, democratic nation are so fortunate to have the means at our disposal (ie: our defence forces) to assist those less fortunate in their time of need and we have a duty and responsibility to do just that whenever and wherever we can.

Anywho, did somebody say something about horses? Apologies for going OT.