O’Connor hopes new arena can keep top talent in Ireland
O’Connor, who has been having weekly sessions at the new complex over the last month and a half, said: “It’s fantastic. I’m probably its number one fan, probably because it’s the same surface as what was at the Olympic Games in London. So to have a world-class facility here and to be able to use high performance for coaching is really something special.
“Over the last 20 years, the trait has been that we produce wonderful riders and quite often those riders go abroad due to lack of funding or facilities. So maybe this can go towards encouraging people (to stay in Ireland).
“To have a world class facility, as this is, on our doorstep is something special and I hope to use it regularly.”
O’Connor has been particularly pleased with the surface of the facility explaining: “If you were riding on a bad surface for a long period of time, it can create concussion, arthritis, it wouldn’t contribute to longevity so for those reason the surface will allow the horses to stay sounder for longer and take care of them. They’ll jump better for it. It is the same as an athlete, you need to have good quality surfaces.”
A highlight of O’Connor’s year was victory in the Longines Grand Prix of Ireland with his star horse Blue Loyd in the RDS, but he is already looking forward to 2014 and beyond. “I really want to be part of the team that goes to (the World Equestrian Games in) Normandy,” he said. “Obviously it’s the first qualification for the Games in Rio so we’ve got to the get the job done there to qualify the team. I’d like to be a part of that.”
Sports Minister Leo Varadkar was at the launch of the new facilities yesterday and highlighted its wider value to different disciplines of the sport.
“This facility is in a wonderful setting on the old grounds of Abbotstown House.
“What we have now is a world class facility that can be used by several horse sport disciplines, for modern pentathlon, and in two months we should have all-weather facilities not far from here and a pavilion too.
“This is the first publicly-owned and operated horse sports arena in the country and the sports campus, I’m told, is one of the few places in Europe where you can no train for all five disciplines of pentathlon on one campus.
“It was done using a partnership model with Horse Sport Ireland, the Government and the Campus Authority coming together and agreeing a means of sharing the cost. A similar model is intended to be used with the GAA, the FAI and rugby and hockey for their facilities in due course.”
