O’Connor sweeps the boards at Millstreet

CIAN O’Connor gave a masterclass in show jumping at Millstreet Horse Show yesterday, taking the top two places in the €25,000 grand prix, having earlier won the prestigious Boomerang final.

Victory in the afternoon’s feature class came with Ballymore Eustace in a coming-of-age performance, as the Meath-based rider has been slowly developing the grey gelding, in contrast to his runner-up ride Carpe Diem, an 11-year-old gelding O’Connor only acquired a fortnight ago.

Of the winner, O’Connor said: “He was spotted in Finland last year by Paddy Quinlan and was second last year in the final for seven and eight-year-old horses at Dublin Horse Show. He was very good, but he was a little bit backward. That’s why today’s win means so much, but especially for the owners Jackie Bolger and Mel Sutcliffe. They’ve been very patient and so it’s great for them to finally get their reward. He has the potential to jump the bigger tracks, but he will need a bit of time.”