Equestrianism in Ireland is to gain a higher profile thanks to the launch of new television website www.horsebox.tv.
Freelance TV cameraman Ken O’Mahony set up the site which broadcast its first live programmes from the Dublin Horse Show last month.
“I’d been messing around taking photographs of horses at shows for a few years, then started taking videos and loading them onto YouTube,” he told H&H.
“The videos were getting hits so I though I should make a go of it and do it properly.”
Mr O’Mahony has gone into partnership on the venture with fellow horse enthusiast and TV professional Lucinda Kelly.
Though the Dublin Horse Show was the station’s first live content, videos of the annual Glenbeigh Pony Racing Festival in Co Kerry, the AIRC National Hunter Trial Championships, Pony Premier League and Berny Bros saddlery have already been uploaded to the site.
“We hope it will grow to be the Irish equivalent of Horse & Country TV,” he said.
Documentaries such as a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish Equine Centre in Co Kildare and interviews with showjumper and course designer Tommy Brennan are already available to download. And the site also has capacity for members to upload their own videos.
While Horse&CountryTV is available in Ireland, the programming is essentially British.
Ken O’Mahony says he is currently making the content for www.horsebox.tv during his spare time, but plans to film a series with the Irish Horse Welfare Trust and Horse Sport Ireland events.
“I want to run it like a proper television channel, gaining sponsorship and advertising but having the content free for viewers,” said Mr O’Mahony.
