Eamon O'Donohoe competed in the show jumping at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, riding Cluain Meala in what was the last Games in which an all-army team competed for Ireland in Olympic show jumping.
The Grand Prix course at the Piazza Siena, held in intense heat reportedly reaching 108 degrees Fahrenheit, was described by Chef d'Equipe James Neylon as one of the most complicated and difficult courses in show jumping history - five-foot high fences with five-foot spreads, a 17-foot water jump, and triple and double combinations with wrong distances.
O'Donohoe produced what Neylon described as 'a very excellent first round in the circumstances.' Between rounds, Cluain Meala sustained an injury while being loaded for return to the stables. Despite the injury, the combination started the second round before being retired at the twelfth fence.
Equestrian
