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.