Cian O’Connor
Equestrian
BIOGRAPHY
This is Cian’s fourth Olympic Games and he is Ireland’s only equestrian medallist to date; winning a brilliant bronze on Blue Loyd in London 2012. He won team silver at Junior Europeans in 2000 and was only 19 when he rode in his first Nations Cup. He won an individual bronze and a team gold medal at European Championships in 2017. In 2019 Cian jumped clear as the anchor rider (fourth overall) to help Ireland win the FEI Nations Cup final in Barcelona, and with it secured team qualification for Tokyo 2020. He was the best of Ireland’s three men in the individual final in Japan, finishing seventh on ‘Kilkenny’ with a clear round in 88:45, when only a time fault cost him a place in the jump-off. A subsequent veterinary ruling (nose bleed) forced the pair’s withdrawal from the team event. This year Cian and Maurice took second place at the five-star Grand Prix in Wellington in February, as well as helping the Irish team win the Ocala leg of the Longines League of Nations in Florida, and the last pre-Olympic five-star Nations Cup in Aachen on July 4. He runs his own high performance equitation centre called ‘Karlswood’ in Meath.
OTHER EQUESTRIAN ATHLETES
EQUESTRIAN NEWS
Seven Riders named across Eventing, Showjumping and Dressage for Paris 2024
The Olympic Federation of Ireland has officially selected the equestrian team who are set to compete at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. Team Ireland will be represented by a showjumping team, an eventing team, and individual dressage at the Games, with competition taking place on the grounds of the Versailles Palace. The eventing [...]
Performance Round Up – March
Catch up on the latest results of Team Ireland athletes throughout the month of March. Jack Woolley Qualifies in Taekwondo For Paris 2024 Three years on from the delayed Tokyo Games, where he became Ireland’s first participant in any Olympic taekwondo event, Woolley has again sealed his place in the 58kg division. Jude Gallagher adds [...]
Weekend Recap | Rugby, Athletics, Show Jumping
Ireland dominate to win fifth Wellington CSIO4* Nations Cup The Underwriting Exchange Irish Show Jumping team won a fifth CSIO4* Wellington International Nations Cup after an utterly dominant performance at the Florida venue overnight. Michael Blake’s team of Darragh Kenny on Eddy Blue, David O’Brien on El Balou Old, Shane Sweetnam on RR Combella and [...]
Bernard Jackman Appointed Acting Head of Sport at HSI
JACKMAN APPOINTED ACTING HEAD OF SPORT AT HSI Former Ireland rugby international to oversee high performance programme in run-up to Paris Olympics Bernard Jackman has been appointed Acting Head of High Performance Sport at Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) in the lead-up to the Olympic Games in Paris. The former Ireland rugby union international, who won a […]
Ireland win team silver at FEI European Championship
The Irish Senior Show Jumping team moved up the leader board in Milano to finish second The Underwriting Exchange Irish Show Jumping team delivered an excellent performance to claim the silver medal in the team final of the FEI Jumping European Championship in Milano, Italy, this afternoon, Friday 1st of September. Michael Blake’s quartet of Michael [...]
Irish Eventing team secure Olympic qualification with superb performance at World Championships
A fantastic performance from the Irish Eventing team of Sam Watson, Padraig McCarthy, Susie Berry and Austin O’Connor, managed by Dag Albert at the FEI Eventing World Championships in Pratoni, Italy, has secured Olympic qualification for the Irish team for Paris 2024. A fifth place finish following today’s final Show Jumping phase saw Ireland take one of the seven coveted Olympic […]