Cian O’Connor: Nations Cup series badly in need of review

Ireland is joint second-last in the Furusiyya Nations Cup Series, but it was news to Cian O’Connor yesterday.

The Olympic bronze medallist believes that the format for the sport’s showcase league is convoluted — with only four countries in the 10-country Europe Division One picking up points at each of eight shows — and he has, to all intents and purposes, given up trying to figure out the permutations.

That’s not to say, however, that this detracts from tomorrow’s nations cup at the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show in the RDS, with O’Connor, like every Irish rider, dreaming of lifting the Aga Khan Trophy.

“The Furusiyya league is so complicated, I didn’t even know where we were standing until you told me, and you can quote me on that” said O’Connor. “It badly needs a review. It’s hard enough for the public to understand, never mind the riders.

“Where we stand in the league, though, has little impact on how we intend to compete on Friday. The bottom line is that we always do our utmost to win in Dublin, regardless of where we are in the league.”

The Meath-based rider then took up the Team Ireland theme for 2015, saying the total focus was on this month’s European Championships in Aachen, Germany, where Ireland will bid to qualify a team for the 2016 Olympics. The pressure is huge, having missed out on the last two Games, and O’Connor said nothing should be allowed to distract from the goal of booking a team ticket for Rio.

“A good result on Friday will qualify us for the Furusiyya final in Barcelona next month, but you can’t get caught up in sideshows.

“Dublin is more important in that it prepares us for the Europeans in Aachen. We have a strong squad and it’s important we sign off on a good note. For everybody, qualification for Rio is the only goal.

“Whether I’m on a horse or helping on the ground at the Europeans is not the most important thing; what’s important is that we have the best team there and all the squad feels the same,” said O’Connor, who set himself up nicely for Dublin with a victory in the Premier Series Grand Prix at South County Dublin Show last Sunday on the stallion Aramis 573, on which he won the 7/8-year-old final at the RDS last year. It’s always good to have a win. Winning is a habit and it’s nice to practise it,” he said.

O’Connor is on a five-man squad aiming for one of four places on tomorrow’s team, the others being Darragh Kenny, Bertram Allen, Conor Swail and Greg Broderick. He rides Good Luck, and he hopes the sentiment of the name will be evident. Nevertheless, he says the horse has all the required attributes and his preparation has gone perfectly.

“He’s got huge scope and is really careful. He’s allergic to the poles. He’s still a relatively green horse, but is coming along nicely. He did a 1.50mtr class in Hickstead recently and had two clear rounds. I haven’t had so many pressure rounds on him and the aim is to peak his month and everything has gone to plan, so far.”

Irish riders dominated the international classes on the opening day, with Dermott Lennon and Loughview Lou Lou taking the feature Irish Sports Council Classic.

The former world champion was among 16 to make the jump-off, and finished clear and a fifth of a second faster than Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya (Carlos 273), with Germany’s Hans-Dieter Dreher (Embassy II) in third place.

The Irish were quick off the mark in the opening class, The Speed Stakes, with Greg Broderick to the fore. The Tipp rider, aboard Mhs Automatic, was just four-hundredths of a second faster than fellow nations cup squad member Darragh Kenny and Picolo, with another squad member, Conor Swail, next best on Simba de la Roque.

O’Connor and Coco 11 finished eighth.