Congratulations to Olympic bronze medallist Cian O’Connor who won the Longines Grand Prix at the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show with his Olympic mount Blue Loyd, just over a year since they took their medal at London.
One of ten through to the jump-off from a starting field of 40, the Meath-based rider led from the start with a scorching time of 56.50, and saw off a challenge from the Ukraine’s Ulrich Kirchhoff and Carlina, leaving them in the runner-up spot with over four seconds in hand. O’Connor and Kirchhoff recorded the competition’s only double clear rounds, with the Irishman picking up 66,000 euro in prize money for his first place.
The Grand Prix, which attracted some of the world’s top riders and horses, also saw Co. Louth’s Mark McAuley and Par Trois finish in sixth, with Down’s Conor Swail and Lansdowne in seventh.
Though O’Connor sold Blue Loyd shortly after the Olympics, the horse’s new owner Nicole Walker has lent the Irish rider his former mount on several important occasions this year. O’Connor also rode Blue Loyd in Friday’s Aga Khan Trophy competition, where their two rounds helped Ireland qualify for the Furusiyya Nations’ Cup Final at Barcelona next month.
O’Connor said after his triumph today: “The Longines Grand Prix at Dublin is a Grand Prix every Irish rider wants to win, and I’m just overwhelmed at my victory today. The horse jumped so well for me, both on Friday and today, and I’m very grateful to Blue Loyd’s owner Nicole Walker for making him available to me at one of the greatest shows in the world.”
Earlier in the day Tipperary’s Shane Breen won the Speed Championship on Ominerale Courcelle, with 18 year-old Bertram Allen and Wild Thing L close behind in second. At the finish of the show, Wexford-born Allen was awarded the coveted Longines Leading International Rider trophy.
On Friday, Ireland’s Aga Khan Trophy team finished equal third with the USA in the Nations’ Cup competition at the Dublin Horse Show, but their accumulated points after eight legs of the Furusiyya FEI league has ensured Irish qualification for the Barcelona final next month.
The Aga Khan trophy was won by Great Britain today for the 26th time in its history, with the Netherlands in second place and Ireland sharing third with the US team.
Despite two clear rounds from the Northern Ireland members of the team – Conor Swail and Dermott Lennon – the Irish quartet could not improve upon eight faults in each round, and their final 16 penalty points left them two fences off the British leaders and on a par with the USA.
However, only the best six teams in the Europe Division One qualify for September’s Spanish final, and today’s result shifted Ireland up to fifth place overall.
Afterwards Irish Team manager Robert Splaine said: “I’m terribly disappointed that we didn’t finish first today. The team so much wanted to win, especially for the huge crowd who turned out to cheer us on. The lads worked hard, but in the end the British team, which included three of their Olympic Gold medallists, was just too good. Today’s competition was also very important for Ireland in the context of next month’s European championships, and I will be spending the next few days analysing the performances here today.”
The final Irish scores were: Dermott Lennon/Loughview Lou Lou (ISH) 4/0 Shane Breen/Balloon 8/8 Conor Swail/Lansdowne 0/4 Cian O’Connor/Blue Loyd 4/4.
The Barcelona final of the 2013 league will be between the qualified nations of Switzerland, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, the Ukraine and Ireland.
