Irish international riders Conor Swail and Darragh Kenny with Tom Barrett of TRM Ireland at the Irish Fan Zone

Enterprise Ireland hosted a successful client-buyer evening at The Royal Horse Show in Toronto on Friday November 14th.

The Royal Horse Show is a world renowned equestrian event which lasts 10 days and this year celebrated its 92nd year. The show is rated the #1 indoor horse show in North America and boasts a huge variety of equestrian based competitions alongside a large trade fair. As a result of introductions made at the Dublin Horse Show 2013 a number of Irish client companies now have distributors in Canada. The Royal is a good opportunity for Irish equine clients to see their wares on display and to strengthen relationships with distributors.

TRM Ireland joined up with the Ontario Equestrian Federation (OEF) for the afternoon to help them out with an Irish Fan Zone. Irish international riders Conor Swail and Darragh Kenny spent an hour signing TRM Ireland hats and merchandise for excited fans.

In the evening, Enterprise Ireland welcomed the Irish Ambassador to Canada, Dr. Ray Bassett and Orla Battersby, Enterprise Ireland Director for North America to the Weston Canadian Open. Gavan O Sullivan and Matt Walsh from Nortev , Tom Barrett from TRM Ireland, Douglas Venn from Bucas and Terry McLaughlin from Dubarry Canada also joined with their respective Canadian distributors (Greenhawk and System Fencing) and equine industry contacts (Horse Canada and the OEF) for the show.

Both the clients and buyers had an enjoyable evening. Existing relationships were strengthened and new contacts were made. Gavan O Sullivan, MD of Nortev stated that “We'll stay in touch [with Enterprise Ireland Canada]; the trip was a well worthwhile investment.” Another client company thanked Enterprise Ireland for facilitating the networking event, commenting that “2015 could be a breakthrough year in Canada”.