Get all the very latest news in Ireland straight to your email every single day Sign up! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Angry Travellers who refused to take no for an answer disrupted competitions at Europe’s oldest horse fair.

They flooded into Ballinasloe in their hundreds last weekend for the start of the Great October Fair, only to discover the sulky racing events – ponies pulling chariot-type traps – had been banned.

The restriction was brought in by Galway County Council along with the Department of Agriculture and gardai for health and safety reasons.

The high-speed, unregulated races have long been a feature of the fair, but health and safety issues allied to insurance liability concerns and the views of animal rights groups led to a ban for the first time this year.

The County Council, which oversees the action on the council-owned property, installed ramps to prevent the racing, known locally as flashing, from going ahead in its traditional venue in one section of the Fairgreen.

The decision infuriated the racers and their supporters. They parked vehicles and obstructed efforts to get the horse and pony competitions under way both last Sunday and Monday.

Fair PRO Niall Clarke said: “They weren’t happy they couldn’t go ahead with the sulky racing. But the Council

and the Department of Agri-culture call the shots here – it’s on council property.

“Instead they insisted on disrupting all our big competitions on Sunday and Monday which was a great pity.

“People had travelled from all over the country, having earlier competed in qualifiers and they were unable to take part because of the disruption.”

Organisers confirmed the re-scheduled competitions took place yesterday.

The events included the Horse of the Fair Lunging competition, the All-Ireland Pony Lunging contest and the All-Ireland Cob Lunging event.

The fair is due to finish today after a week of wheeling and dealing for horse flesh, with buyers from all over Europe competing with Irish dealers for the best stock.

Agents and buyers travelled from Italy, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands to do battle with the biggest Irish buyers – Jim Derwin from Athlone and Miley Cash from Monasterevin.

It has been renowned for centuries across Europe thanks to the legendary steed Marengo which was bought at the Ballinasloe Fair just before the turn of the 19th century.

Marengo carried Napoleon Bonaparte to victory in a battle fought in Northern Italy between the French and the Austrians on June 14, 1800.

And just for good measure, Marengo also carried Napoleon to further resounding victories over the Austrian and Russian armies in the battles of Austerlitz, Jena and Wagram.

Continental quartermasters or their agents were a regular feature at the fair as major buyers of horse flesh from the 18th century right up to the Second World War.

The Ballinasloe horses were specially prized for their versatility both as mounts and for draught work.

Nowadays buyers are less interested in picking up a war horse in Ballinasloe than in discovering a showjumper capable of turning a tasty profit by the time it enters the showjumping arenas of the RDS, Wembley or even the US mecca of Spruce Meadows.

Horsebuyer Jim Derwin said: “You get great horses in Ballinasloe. I’ve sent them all over the world – to Dubai, Europe to America, everywhere.

“I’ve been going to Ballinasloe since I could walk and my father before me. We’ve been going there for generations.

“For showjumping, hunting, even ponies, you get great stock in Ballinasloe in October. It’s one of the biggest horse fairs in the world and I’d buy more there than I would at Goresbridge or any other horse fair.”

Last year the two renowned Irish dealers bought 50 to 60 animals each and by the close of business today they both expect to have picked up a similar number.

Mr Clarke added: “It has been very busy since the start of business last Sunday and there have been a lot of full horse trucks heading out of Ballinasdloe all week.”

It’s a toss-up as to whether there were more horses on the Fairgreen at any one time than owners and prospective buyers.

There’s also a week-long programme of music, entertainment, arts and crafts competitions and rare craic, for which Ballinasloe has become renowned.

Overseeing it all was the newly-chosen Queen of the Fair, national school teacher Rachel Walker.

Mr Clarke said: “It’s unique and has huge appeal, across the country and across the world.

“Last year we had a major German TV company here filming and it was shown to an audience of 60million people.

“Buyers travel from all over the world looking for a particular horse or pony. Mostly they come from all across the country and from France, Italy, Holland and Germany.”

But there is no denying the dismay of the voluntary organising committee at the decision this year of Failte Ireland to axe the annual €5,450 grant for the fair.

Mr Clarke added: “It’s hugely disappointing, gut-wrenching. It’s the biggest festival outside of Galway city and part of old Ireland that has huge appeal to everyone.

“It pulls in visitors and buyers from around the world and our attendance will be anything up to 80,000 for the week.

“All the hotel rooms in the area are booked up and it really is a unique event. Yet Failte Ireland are turning their back on us.”

In a statement Failte Ireland said the fair had received Failte Ireland funding in 2013 and 2014 to the value of €5,450.