Horse Sport Ireland releases findings on Sally Corscadden investigation

Horse Sport Ireland has released the findings of former chief justice Frank Clarke into eventing high performance director Sally Corscadden's use of metal bar training techniques.

Corscadden was cleared in July of 'rapping', a practice widely viewed as inhumane and in breach of Federation Equestre Internationale rules, where metal bars are fixed to the top of showjumping poles with the goal of forcing horses to jump higher.

The high performance director had always maintained that metal strips on fences during her training sessions were angled away from horses, with the additional noise from making contact with the obstacles designed to sharpen a horse's focus.

Clarke was engaged by Horse Sport Ireland to investigate the matter and arrived at the decision that "the appropriate sanction to be imposed would be a written final warning to the effect that any further material breach of the duty of trust and confidence could well result in dismissal".

His substantive report sets out his conclusions in relation to a further allegation which related to whether or not there was any misconduct on the part of Corscadden in connection with having made no mention during an earlier investigation of the fact that the metal bar training practice was in use.

Conclusions of the Substantive Report of Mr Justice Clarke:

The Substantive Report dated 10 July, 2023 found as follows in relation to the central allegation of rapping:

The Substantive Report dated 10 July, 2023 found as follows in relation to the additional allegation:

In summary in setting out his conclusions in the Substantive Report Mr. Justice Clarke set out the following:

"I am not of the view that Ms Corscadden can be held to have been in breach of her contract of