“I was only in second gear,” joked Cian O’Connor yesterday after he got Ireland off to a winning start at the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show, before Bertram Allen, made it two-in-a-row for the home side in the second international class.

Sarah Ennis was typically determined yesterday as she aimed to turn around a disappointing dressage score with BLM Diamond Delux in the feature CCI three-star at Tattersalls Horse Trials.

Despite the successes achieved last year, Ireland show jumping manager Robert Splaine was yesterday in no mood for talking up his squad’s chances in this year’s Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Series.

Cian O’Connor is already giving indication of another successful partnership, notching up a double with his latest acquisition Walk Tall II on week seven of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida.

The impending change of chairman at Horse Sport Ireland has impacted on the second round of interviews for the Irish show jumping manager’s job.

The recently-formed Irish Event Riders’ Club has “disassociated” itself from its own survey of riders regarding their experiences with the Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) high-performance programme.

Irish Olympic bronze medallist Cian O’Connor has sold the horse that brought him success at the London Games.

A horse ridden by an Irish show jumper is believed to have tested positive for a prohibited substance earlier this year.

Cian O’Connor will give Blue Loyd his first international outing since the Dublin Horse Show when he travels to Caen, France, next week.

Olympic bronze medallist Cian O’Connor ensured himself a fitting send-off from the Discover Dublin Horse Show yesterday when third in the €200,000 Longines Grand Prix.

Katie Taylor had her Bray bash, John Joe Nevin was feted in Mullingar, while Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan got the red carpet treatment in Belfast.

The show jumping community at Millstreet International Horse Show was yesterday basking in the sun and Cian O’Connor’s Olympic bronze medal-winning performance.

Cian O'Connor has said it is "time to move on" from the controversy surrounding his performance at the Athens Olympics.

God knows, RTE have got their money’s worth from Jimmy Magee over the years.

“This means everything to me. This bronze medal is worth much more than the gold I won in Athens,” said Cian O’Connor last night after his stunning performance in London yesterday with Blue Loyd.

This is a story of three journeys. One is the adventurous tale of a young girl whose prowess in a pair of boxing gloves helped gain her sport a place in the Olympic Games.

Irish Olympic medals are something like London buses — you wait for ages for one to come along and then three arrive together.

Cian O’Connor was delighted “to give back to the Irish public” today after delivering his country’s first medal of the Olympics in extraordinary fashion.

Cian O'Connor has won a bronze medal for Ireland after the final of the show jumping at Greenwich Park.

Cian O'Connor produced a flawless first round in today's individual showjumping final at Greenwich Park today.

Cian O’Connor is clinging to a slim hope he will line out in tomorrow’s show jumping final, despite failing to make it through yesterday’s third round.

Dressage rider Anna Merveldt says she will be “sweating” today as she waits to see if her performance yesterday proves good enough to see her through to the next round.

Show jumper Cian O’Connor yesterday said it was “fantastic to be going back to the Olympics” after he got the nod as a replacement for Denis Lynch.

By John Tynan

By John Tynan

Show jumper Denis Lynch has been required by Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) to attend a meeting in Dublin today to put his case as to why he should be allowed to participate in the Olympics.

Camilla Speirs holds second place after dressage in the CIC short-format three-star at the Tattersalls International Horse Trials in Co Meath.

Michael Ryan was his usual assured self yesterday after riding Dromgurrihy Blue to equal 10th in the dressage phase of the Irish Field CCI three-star class at Tattersalls International Horse Trials.

Ireland finished last in yesterday’s Italian Nations Cup in Rome yesterday, having been severely hampered by the elimination of Niall Talbot and Nicos de la Cense in the opening round.

Ireland show jumping manager Robert Splaine’s prediction that yesterday’s French Nations Cup would be a difficult test proved accurate, as Ireland finished joint fifth of the eight teams.

While failing to make the jump-off in Saturday’s $500,000 FTI Consulting Grand Prix in Florida, show jumpers Conor Swail and Cian O’Connor were delighted with the performances of their horses, after they finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Show jumpers buying into possible Olympic participation will be struck by Horse Sport Ireland’s selection criteria: Terms and conditions apply.

What proved a special weekend at Ballindenisk is set to be given the Olympic seal today when the FEI publishes the list of individual riders who have qualified for London.

Cian O’Connor’s improving relationship with his new horse Blue Loyd has given him cause for optimism heading into today’s $125,000 World Cup class at Florida’s FTI Winter Equestrian Festival.

WITH the battle for individual places at the Olympics intensifying, Billy Twomey achieved an important fourth place in the lucrative grand prix at Basel, Switzerland, yesterday.

SHOWJUMPINGIRELAND (SJI) has decided that its regions can use their 2012 allocation of sports development funding for non-sporting activities, including administration.