Insurance crisis defused for February but the next step is to fund it long term

The final weekend in January 2022 can be considered one of the most positive in recent memory for those within the point-to-point scene.

Confirmation from last Friday that all scheduled fixtures in the month of February were free to proceed demonstrated the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), having reviewed the new insurance policy being put forward for hunting and point-to-pointing, was comfortable with its contents.

This announcement, coming just one weekend before the 2022 crop of four-year-old maidens were due to be unleashed, was obviously most welcome. More than that, though, it constitutes the saving of a business model for many who will benefit from the anticipated number of opportunities to run their horses now proceeding as expected.