Cian O'Connor


Cián O'Connor is an Irish equestrian who competes in show jumping. He has competed at two Olympic Games, two World Championships and six European Championships, and has attained over 125 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.
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 and 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. His maternal 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 is a successful model and business woman.
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 horses at his stables, Karlswood in Batterstown, County Meath, Ireland. He trains young and upcoming riders at the stables, where he also trades in all classes of showjumpers.

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 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
CSI3* Lummen, Belgium:
Grand Prix: 3rd
CSI3* Hagen, Germany:
Grand Prix: 8th
CSI5* Global Champions Tour, Valencia, Spain:
1m50 class: 4th - €1,600 - just 1.65 seconds behind the winner.
CSIO5* Rome, Italy:
Meydan FEI Nations Cup: 3rd on 12 faults: Cameron Hanley - /4; Darragh Kenny - 4/; Cian O'Connor - 4/0; Billy Twomey - 0/4
CSIO5* St. Gallen, Switzerland:
Grand Prix: 2nd - €60,000
Meydan FEI Nations Cup: 4th on 19 faults: Shane Breen 5/5; Darragh Kenny 5/; Cian O'Connor 9/4; Billy Twomey /0
CSI5* Global Champions Tour, Estoril, Portugal:
Grand Prix: 8th - €6,000
CSIO5* World Equestrian Festival, Aachen, Germany:
Meydan FEI Nations Cup: 1st on 4 faults: Billy Twomey 4/0; Dermott Lennon 0/0; Cian O'Connor 0/0; Denis Lynch /
Yageo Prize: 3rd
CSIO5* 'Failte Ireland' Dublin Horse Show, Dublin, Ireland:
Meydan FEI Nations Cup: 2nd= on 20 faults: Billy Twomey 0/4; Dermott Lennon /; Cian O'Connor 8/0; Denis Lynch 8/0 - leaving the team in 4th on the final standings.
'Land Rover' Puissance: 2nd= - clearing 2m10 - €9,850
CSIO5* Gijon, Spain:
Grand Prix: 6th - €5,000
Meydan FEI Nations Cup: 5th= on 20 faults: Shane Breen /0; Capt. David O'Brien 0/; Cian O'Connor 8/0; Dermott Lennon 4/8
CSI5* Madrid, Spain:
Grand Prix: 5th - €9,000
Puissance: 2nd - €6,000
The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, Jumping World Championships, Kentucky:
Team: Dermott Lennon ; Denis Lynch ; Cian O’Connor ; Billy Twomey
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 - earning €3,750
CSI5*-W Verona, Italy:
Grand Prix: 10th - earning €1,500.
CSI3* Stockholm, Sweden:
Grand Prix: 5th - earning €2,500.
CSI5*-W Geneva, Switzerland:
Rolex FEI World Cup qualifier: 11th - €3,000
Geneva Derby: 1st
'Credit Suisse' Team Competition - Switzerland vs Europe vs America vs Rest of the World: 1st - Europe II - €3,000
Puissance: =3rd: - €1,500
CSI5*-W London Olympia, United Kingdom: Santa Stakes - 1m60 jump-off class: 1st - €6,480

2011

CSI3*-W Dubai Championships, UAE: FEI World Cup Qualifier: 5th - €3,100
'Gulf News' Dubai Cup : 1st - €6,700
Accumulator: 1st - €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 - €2,500
1m45 Two-Phase Competition: 3rd - €2,600
1m45 Jump-off: 4th - €2,900
1m40 Grand Prix Qualifier: 3rd - €3,200
CSI2*-W Sharjah, UAE: FEI World Cup Qualifier: 3rd
CSI4*-W Al Ain, UAE: FEI World Cup qualifier: 2nd - €11,800
Grand Prix qualifier: 3rd - €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 : 3rd - €6,000
Grand Prix : 2nd - €4,500
Grand Prix : 3rd - €3,500
Grand Prix : 5th - €1,800
1m45 two-phase : 1st - €6,900
1m45 : 1st - €6,900
CSIO5* La Baule, France: FEI Nations Cup: 1st on 13 faults: Shane Sweetnam 1/4; Billy Twomey 4/4; Cian O'Connor /0; Cameron Hanley 0/ - Team earned €64,000
CSI3* Pforzheim, Germany: Grand Prix: 2nd - €13,000
CSIO5* Rome, Italy: Puissance: 2nd - €4,000
1m50 jump-off: 4th - €1,995
1m50 jump-off: 5th - €1,610
CSIO5* 'Discover Ireland' RDS Dublin Horse Show, Ireland: 'Power and Speed': 5th - €1,750
'Land Rover' Puissance: =2nd - €3,766
CSIO5* Gijon, Spain: Grand Prix: 8th - €3,000
1m50 jump-off: 2nd - €8,500
CSIO5* Barcelona, Spain: 'Seat' Grand Prix: 5th - €9,000
CSI3* Horse of the Year Show, Birmingham, UK: 'Vinopolis' Speed Horse of the Year: 3rd - €3,600
CSI5*-W Helsinki, Finland: 1m50 'Porsche International Classic': 5th - €2,500
1m40 'Power and Speed': 7th - €1,000
CSI4* Salzburg, Austria: 1m50 against the clock: 7th - €1,300
CSI4* Porto, Portugal: 1m45 jump-off: 5th - €1,667

2012

Week 1 WEF Wellington, Florida: $30,000 'Surpass' Grand Prix: 3rd - $3,900
$25,000 'Suncast' 1m50 Championship: 4th - $2,000
Week 2 WEF CSI2* Wellington, Florida: $32,000 WEF Challenge II: 3rd - $4,800
$50,000 Grand Prix: 7th - $1,500
Week 3 WEF CSI2* Wellington, Florida: $50,000 'Horseware Ireland' Grand Prix: 4th - $5,000
$25,000 'Suncast' 1m50 Championship: 5th - $1,500
Week 4 WEF CSI2* Wellington, Florida: $80,000 Grand Prix: 6th - $3,600
$25,000 'Suncast' 1m50 Championship: 5th - $1,500
Week 5 WEF CSI3*-W Wellington, Florida: $32,000 Suncast 1m50 Championship: 2nd - $6,400 ; 4th - $3,200
Week 8 WEF CSIO4* Wellington, Florida: $75,000 Nations Cup: 2nd
$32,000 1m45: 3rd - $4,800
Week 10 WEF CSI3* Wellington, Florida: $80,000 Grand Prix: 2nd - $16,000
Week 11 WEF Wellington, Florida: $25,000 Suncast 1m50: 3rd - $3,250
Week 12 WEF Wellington, Florida: $500,000 Grand Prix: 7th - $15,000
$32,000 Suncast 1m50: 6th - $1,440
CSIO5* La Baule, France: FEI Nations Cup: Ireland =5th
1m45-1m50: 4th - €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.

Major results