Cian O'Connor
Cian O'Connor is an Irish equestrian who competes in show jumping. He has competed at three Olympic Games, two World Championships and six European Championships, and has attained 128 senior caps for his country. He won an individual bronze medal at the London Olympic Games 2012 and was a member of the Irish team that took a gold medal at the European Championships in Gothenburg in 2017. O’Connor also won a bronze individual medal at the latter event. At the Tokyo Summer Olympics (which was held in 2021), Cian and his Irish-bred mount Kilkenny finished seventh overall  in the individual class. He was also a member of the Irish Teams that won Aga Khan Trophy at the Dublin Horse show in 2004, 2012 and 2015. O’Connor was also a member of the winning Irish team at the European Show Jumping Championships in 2017, again after a 16-year absence from the podium by Ireland. He also took an individual bronze medal at these championships. Aside from his own participation in the sport, O’Connor has also carved out a significant reputation as a coach to an outstanding crop of younger riders across Ireland, North America and beyond who  continue to compete at the highest level of showjumping, both nationally and internationally. O’Connor also specialises in producing younger horses to achieve top international standards and has a reputation for being able to identify horses with such potential, often early in their careers. Personal life. O'Connor was born in Dublin to parents Tadhg O'Connor and Louise Mullen, and grew up in Johnstown, Co. Kildare. His grandfather is former Ireland international Grand Slam winning captain Dr. Karl Mullen who also led the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1950. He is also godson to businessman Tony O'Reilly . Educated at Belvedere College SJ in Dublin, Cian has two sisters, Susanna and Pippa O'Connor, who was a successful model, turned influencer and entrepeneur. Cian O'Connor married Ruth Maybin on 31 December 2011 at Clongowes Wood College SJ, Clane, County Kildare. They live in County Meath, Ireland, and have two children, Ben and Cara. Cian O'Connor trains ambitious riders at Karlswood in Batterstown, County Meath, Ireland. He trains young and upcoming riders at the high performance centre, where he also trades in all classes of showjumpers. Amongst his students are Max, Tom and Alice Wachman, Canada's Nikki Walker and  New Zealand's Annabel Francis. Jumping career. 2004 Summer Olympics. Riding his horse, "Waterford Crystal", he became an instant national hero, being the only Irish medalist that year. However, on 8 October 2004, it emerged that Waterford Crystal had tested positive for a prohibited substance. The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) ruled that O'Connor must be stripped of his medal and he also received a three-month ban from competition. FEI found that he did not deliberately attempt to affect the performance of the horse. The individual showjumping gold medal went to Brazilian Rodrigo Pessoa and the Irish team's seventh  place was inherited by the Italians. 2009. In December, O'Connor was invited to jump at Olympia, London, finishing, on "Rancorrado", 2nd in the World Cup Qualifier, his highest placing in a Qualifier to date. The next night he won the Grand Prix, and this in turn secured him the Leading Rider of the Show. 2010. CSI4* Basel, Switzerland: Grand Prix: 1st ("Rancorrado") CSI3* Lummen, Belgium: Grand Prix: 3rd ("K Club Lady") CSI3* Hagen, Germany: Grand Prix: 8th ("K Club Lady") CSI5* Global Champions Tour, Valencia, Spain: 1m50 class: 4th ("K Club Lady") - €1,600 - just 1.65 seconds behind the winner . CSIO5* Rome, Italy: Meydan FEI Nations Cup: 3rd on 12 faults: Cameron Hanley ("Southwind VDL") - (8)/4; Darragh Kenny ("Obelix") - 4/(8); Cian O'Connor ("K Club Lady") - 4/0; Billy Twomey ("Tinka's Serenade") - 0/4 CSIO5* St. Gallen, Switzerland: Grand Prix: 2nd ("K Club Lady") - €60,000 Meydan FEI Nations Cup: 4th on 19 faults: Shane Breen ("Carmena Z") 5/5; Darragh Kenny ("Obelix") 5/(16); Cian O'Connor ("K Club Lady") 9/4; Billy Twomey ("Je T'aime Flamenco") (9)/0 CSI5* Global Champions Tour, Estoril, Portugal: Grand Prix: 8th ("K Club Lady") - €6,000 CSIO5* World Equestrian Festival, Aachen, Germany: Meydan FEI Nations Cup: 1st on 4  faults: Billy Twomey (" Tinka's Serenade") 4/0; Dermott Lennon ("Hallmark Elite") 0/0; Cian O'Connor ("K Club Lady") 0/0; Denis Lynch ("Lantinus") (4)/(NS) Yageo Prize: 3rd ("Splendor") CSIO5* 'Failte Ireland' Dublin Horse Show, Dublin, Ireland: Meydan FEI Nations Cup: 2nd= on 20 faults: Billy Twomey ("Tinka's Serenade") 0/4; Dermott Lennon ("Hallmark Elite") (12)/(8); Cian O'Connor ("K Club Lady") 8/0; Denis Lynch ("Nabab's Son") 8/0 - leaving the team in 4th on the final standings. 'Land Rover' Puissance: 2nd= ("Noctambule Courcelle") - clearing 2m10 - €9,850 CSIO5* Gijon, Spain: Grand Prix: 6th ("K Club Lady") - €5,000 Meydan FEI Nations Cup: 5th=  on 20 faults: Shane Breen ("Carmena Z") (8)/0; Capt. David O'Brien ("Mo Chroi") 0/(8); Cian O'Connor ("Splendor") 8/0; Dermott Lennon ("Hallmark Elite") 4/8 CSI5* Madrid, Spain: Grand Prix: 5th ("K Club Lady") - €9,000 Puissance: 2nd ("Noctambule Courcelle") - €6,000 The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, Jumping World Championships, Kentucky: Team: Dermott Lennon ("Hallmark Elite"); Denis Lynch ("Lantinus"); Cian O’Connor ("K Club Lady"); Billy Twomey ("Tinka’s Serenade") 1st Round - Speed Competition: 12th on 2.88 faults; Team in 8th 2nd Round - First round of the Nations Cup: 16th on a total of 6.88 faults "K Club Lady" picked up a  knock during this round, and O'Connor withdrew from continuing the Championships as an individual. CSI4* Caen, France: 1m50 jump-off class: 3rd ("Splendor") - earning €3,750 CSI5*-W Verona, Italy: Grand Prix: 10th ("Splendor") - earning €1,500. CSI3* Stockholm, Sweden: Grand Prix: 5th ("Splendor") - earning €2,500. CSI5*-W Geneva, Switzerland: Rolex FEI World Cup qualifier: 11th ("Splendor") - €3,000 Geneva Derby: 1st ("Umberto") 'Credit Suisse' Team Competition - Switzerland vs Europe vs America vs Rest of the World: 1st - Europe II ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €3,000 Puissance: =3rd: ("Asturias") - €1,500 CSI5*-W London Olympia, United Kingdom: Santa Stakes - 1m60  jump-off class: 1st ("Splendor") - €6,480 2011. CSI3*-W Dubai Championships, UAE: FEI World Cup Qualifier: 5th ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €3,100 'Gulf News' Dubai Cup (Qualifier for the Grand Prix): 1st ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €6,700 Accumulator: 1st ("Arabella") - €4,200 O'Connor also earned the 'Leading Rider of the Show' award - €2,100 CSI3*-W Abu Dhabi, UAE: FEI World Cup Qualifier: 6th ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €2,500 1m45 Two-Phase Competition: 3rd ("Arabella") - €2,600 1m45 Jump-off: 4th ("Arabella") - €2,900 1m40 Grand Prix Qualifier: 3rd ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €3,200 CSI2*-W Sharjah, UAE: FEI World Cup Qualifier: 3rd  ("Larkhill Cruiser") CSI4*-W Al Ain, UAE: FEI World Cup qualifier: 2nd ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €11,800 Grand Prix qualifier: 3rd ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €5,200 O'Connor also earned the 'Leading Rider of the Show' award He and "Larkhill Cruiser" also secured the Leading Horse and Leading Rider Awards of the UAE World Cup Qualifying Tour. CSI3* Vejer de la Frontera, Spain: Grand Prix (week 2): 3rd ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €6,000 Grand Prix (week 3): 2nd ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €4,500 Grand Prix (week 4): 3rd ("Splendor") - €3,500 Grand Prix (week 5): 5th ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €1,800 1m45 two-phase (week 2 ): 1st ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €6,900 1m45 (week 3): 1st ("Larkhill Cruiser") - €6,900 CSIO5* La Baule, France: FEI Nations Cup: 1st on 13 faults: Shane Sweetnam ("Amaretto Darco") 1/4; Billy Twomey ("Romanov") 4/4; Cian O'Connor ("Larkhill Cruiser") (4)/0; Cameron Hanley ("Southwind VDL") 0/(17) - Team earned €64,000 CSI3* Pforzheim, Germany: Grand Prix: 2nd ("Temple Road") - €13,000 CSIO5* Rome, Italy: Puissance: 2nd ("On Ira") - €4,000 1m50 jump-off: 4th ("Temple Road") - €1,995 1m50 jump-off: 5th ("Splendor") - €1,610 CSIO5* 'Discover Ireland' RDS Dublin Horse Show, Ireland: 'Power and Speed': 5th ("Splendor") - €1,750 'Land Rover' Puissance: = 2nd ("On Ira") - €3,766 CSIO5* Gijon, Spain: Grand Prix: 8th ("Splendor") - €3,000 1m50 jump-off: 2nd ("Carpe Diem") - €8,500 CSIO5* Barcelona, Spain: 'Seat' Grand Prix: 5th ("Carpe Diem") - €9,000 CSI3* Horse of the Year Show, Birmingham, UK: 'Vinopolis' Speed Horse of the Year: 3rd ("Goldex") - €3,600 CSI5*-W Helsinki, Finland: 1m50 'Porsche International Classic': 5th ("Carpe Diem") - €2,500 1m40 'Power and Speed': 7th ("Goldex") - €1,000 CSI4* Salzburg, Austria: 1m50 against the clock: 7th ("O'Connell Street") - €1,300 CSI4* Porto, Portugal: 1m45 jump-off: 5th ("Blue Loyd") - €1,667 2012. Week 1 WEF Wellington , Florida: $30,000 'Surpass' Grand Prix: 3rd ("Blue Loyd") - $3,900 (€3,079) $25,000 'Suncast' 1m50 Championship: 4th ("Everything") - $2,000 (€1,579) Week 2 WEF CSI2* Wellington, Florida: $32,000 WEF Challenge II: 3rd ("Blue Loyd") - $4,800 (€3,710) $50,000 Grand Prix: 7th ("Everything") - $1,500 (€1,160) Week 3 WEF CSI2* Wellington, Florida: $50,000 'Horseware Ireland' Grand Prix: 4th ("Blue Loyd") - $5,000 (€3,795) $25,000 'Suncast' 1m50 Championship: 5th ("Everything") - $1,500 (€1,138) Week 4 WEF CSI2* Wellington, Florida: $80,000 Grand Prix: 6th ("Blue Loyd") - $3,600 (€2,718) $ 25,000 'Suncast' 1m50 Championship: 5th ("KEC Alligator Alley") - $1,500 (€1,132) Week 5 WEF CSI3*-W Wellington, Florida: $32,000 Suncast 1m50 Championship: 2nd ("Everything") - $6,400 (€4,834); 4th ("KEC Alligator Alley") - $3,200 (€2,417) Week 8 WEF CSIO4* Wellington, Florida: $75,000 Nations Cup: 2nd (Shane Sweetnam / "Amaretto d'Arco" [0/4]; Richie Moloney / "Slievenorra" [4/0]; Darragh Kerins / "Lisona" [4/4]; Cian O'Connor / "Blue Loyd" [0/0]) $32,000 1m45: 3rd ("KEC Alligator Alley") - $4,800 (€4,365) Week 10 WEF CSI3* Wellington, Florida: $80,000 Grand Prix: 2nd ("KEC Alligator Alley") - $16,000 (€12,116) Week 11 WEF Wellington , Florida: $25,000 Suncast 1m50: 3rd ("KEC Alligator Alley") - $3,250 (€2,451) Week 12 WEF Wellington, Florida: $500,000 Grand Prix: 7th ("Blue Loyd") - $15,000 (€11,258) $32,000 Suncast 1m50: 6th ("KEC Alligator Alley") - $1,440 (€1,080) CSIO5* La Baule, France: FEI Nations Cup: Ireland =5th ("Blue Loyd") 1m45-1m50: 4th ("Da Vinci's Pride") - €2,300 2012 Summer Olympics. Won the Bronze medal in London with his horse Blue Loyd 12 in individual jumping. He lost to Gerco Schröder of the Netherlands in a Silver medal jump-off.