‘Every time you set foot in the RDS, it gives you an incredible feeling’

OLYMPICS Cian O'Connor and team mates qualify for Paris 2024

Cian O'Connor, now based at state-of-the-art equestrian facilities at Blackhall Big, near Batterstown, is looking forward to this week's Dublin Horse Show at the RDS.

"Every time you set foot in the RDS for the Dublin Horse Show, it gives you an incredible feeling," the Olympian says.

"The history and prestige associated with competing in front of your home fans on the biggest stage is something that can’t be matched."

The multi-medallist and one of Ireland’s longest-serving team members says competing in front of an Irish crowd is inspiring.

"As an Irish rider, you walk a little bit taller knowing that you have such a passionate support behind you. It is wonderful to have crowds with us after such a challenging few years and the standard of show jumping in Ireland is as high as it’s ever been. The Dublin Horse Show brings the best out in us, and I have enjoyed some of my most memorable days here, alongside some incredible horses, and I am hugely excited by the current crop of horses we have at Karlswood. Hopefully the best days are yet to come."

And Cian has a wealth of choice when it comes to choosing which mounts he will bring to the show. "I’ve been developing some younger horses since the start of the year, including Taj Mahal: he’s a nine-year-old stallion and he won a three-star Grand Prix in July in Knokke, Belgium." The son of Emerald also won the Longines Ranking class in Wiesbaden in June, ahead of his pupil – and rising star – Max Wachman on Quintini.

"I have another horse, C Vier 2. He’s an older horse that I got at the end of April, and we clicked well. He was second in a Grand Prix in Portmore in the north of Ireland; he won a class in the CSI4 Weisbaden; and jumped a clear round for the team in Rome, and the team in Knokke, and was selected for the ECCO FEI World Championships in Denmark."

"My third horse is Kilkenny; he was seventh in the Olympics in Tokyo. He was very good in Knokke where he was double clear in a two-star Grand Prix. I’m hugely grateful to Susan Magnier for allowing me to partner with these three brilliant horses. We’re aiming for selection in the Nations Cup team at the Dublin Horse Show with Kilkenny."

It’s been a strong year overall for the Kildare native who has a reputation for being a big day player and delivering the goods when it matters most. It began with a win at the four-star Nations Cup at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida where Cian was delighted to stand on the podium alongside his student, Max Wachman. "Wellington was great. I have worked closely with Max for the last five years, so it was special for me because he jumped double clear and was the hero of the night. He was a big part of the success."

The pair will also be competing at the Dublin Horse Show. "It’s very exciting to be jumping alongside Max this year at the RDS. I’ve worked closely with Max and Tom, his younger brother, for the last five years and they work very hard, they want it: they eat, sleep, and drink show jumping. It’s great to help them and see them evolve. Max was fifth individually at the recent FEI European Young Rider Championships, where Tom won a bronze medal as part of the Junior team. They are really going in the right direction."

And they aren’t the only ones, he believes, citing the likes of Mikey Pender and Harry Allen coming up through the ranks.

Looking outwards is important, he stresses, and competing in the US is helping Irish riders to maintain their edge. "We’ve been heavily influenced by the American system. We’ve all travelled there to work, compete, and learn. The speed of the classes there is quicker, the time allowed is shorter."

Karlswood, set on 68 acres at Batterstown, is named after his grandfather, the 1948 rugnt Grand Slam winning captain, Dr Karl Mullen, and Cian makes his living trading hoprses there, usually 10 to 12 a year. The stables were designed by Cian and his wife, Ruth Maybin, an amateur showjumper na dmother to theyr two children, Ben (8) and Cara (5). They bought Blackhall 11 years ago, and its completion is a 20-year dream come true for the rider who won an individual bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The grounds feature a full, professional standard showjumping arena, and some of the jumps are replicas of RDS ones, with the red Georgian doors and the old telephone boxes.

He envisages Karlswood as a “centre of excellence” employing around 20 staff, bringing on the standard of young Irish showjumpers who will not have to base themselves abroad as he did for so many years during his early career.

Olympic Qualification

On a night of drama packed Show Jumping at the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning, Denmark, at the weekend, an outstanding performance from Michael Blake’s Irish Show Jumping team of Denis Lynch, Bertram Allen, Cian O’Connor and Daniel Coyle, saw them take one of the five coveted places for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Ireland finish in fourth place, rising five places from overnight ninth to claim their ticket to Paris. Team gold medal winners were Sweden, silver medal winners, Netherlands and bronze medal winners, Britain. The final Olympic qualification place went to Germany.

“We are delighted to take an Olympic qualification place at the very first opportunity as it now gives us two full years to prepare for the Games,” the team manager said afterwards.

“It is slightly bittersweet as we came so close to winning a medal. It certainly was an exciting competition and all our guys fought hard.”