O'Connor was threatened ahead of RDS contest

John Tynan

The chairman of the showjumping selectors Taylor Vard yesterday confirmed O'Connor had told him of the intimidation, which revolved around the selection of the Nations Cup team at the RDS.

"I can confirm that Cian informed me that there were threats of violence made against him," said Mr Vard, who also said that security had been deployed to protect the horses of the Irish team.

O'Connor, who was stripped of his Olympic gold medal after his horse Waterford Crystal tested positive for prohibited substances at Athens, could not be contacted last night.

The latest controversy follows the decision on Sunday by rider Harry Marshall to withdraw his name for selection for future Nations Cup teams.

Marshall claims he was told he was on last Friday's Aga Khan Cup team but was then dropped, accusing O'Connor of being central to this. He has vowed never to ride in a team with Cian O'Connor again, making him the second rider after Jessica Kurten to do so.

Marshall, who says the selection committee must resign en masse before he will put his name forward for selection, said yesterday: "Until we have somebody strong at the helm and the riders respect that person and go by their judgment, I won't be involved until we have somebody like that involved."

At the heart of Marshall's dispute is the handling of the selection of the team for last Friday's Nations Cup.

Marshall claims he was dropped after O'Connor threatened to pull out of the team if captain Shane Carey was not included instead of him.

However, chef d'equipe Eamonn Rice denies O'Connor had any influence in selecting the team. The resignation of two selectors further deepened the latest controversy to hit Irish showjumping.

Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) Leinster representative Liam Buckley and riders' representative and team trainer Tom Slattery walked out of a meeting of the selectors at the RDS on Sunday.

They took issue with the report on Friday's Nations Cup presented by Mr Rice.

Last night Mr Buckley said that at the meeting: "We asked Eamonn if Cian had said, Carey is on the team or I'll withdraw, and three times Eamonn said: 'I don't remember.'

"That was the end of the conversation as far as we are concerned."

Mr Slattery has said he felt "disgusted by the whole matter and betrayed" by the committee.

This latest controversy prompted the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) to issue a robust response yesterday, saying "riders do not decide the team".

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Army Equitation School last night "strongly refuted" claims that a horse had been subjected to mistreatment at last week's Dublin Horse Show.

The spokesman confirmed an incident had happened "but it was not anything untoward".The resignation of two selectors further deepened the latest controversy to hit Irish showjumping.

Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) Leinster representative Liam Buckley and riders' representative and team trainer Tom Slattery walked out of a meeting of the selectors at the RDS on Sunday.

They took issue with the report on Friday's Nations Cup presented by Mr Rice.

Last night Mr Buckley said that at the meeting: "We asked Eamonn if Cian had said, Carey is on the team or I'll withdraw, and three times Eamonn said: 'I don't remember.'

"That was the end of the conversation as far as we are concerned."

Mr Slattery has said he felt "disgusted by the whole matter and betrayed" by the committee.

This latest controversy prompted the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) to issue a robust response yesterday, saying "riders do not decide the team".

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Army Equitation School last night "strongly refuted" claims that a horse had been subjected to mistreatment at last week's Dublin Horse Show.

The spokesman confirmed an incident had happened "but it was not anything untoward".