Cian O’Connor satisfied with fairness of CAS hearing
Previously, he had declared his understandable upset at the injustice that had occurred at the European Championships in Aachen, Germany, last August, when a member of the ground crew ran in front of him and his mount Good Luck, costing Ireland a place at the Olympics when they knocked the next fence.
Reflecting yesterday, though, he said he was satisfied that both he, Horse Sport Ireland and the Federation Equestre Internationale had been given the opportunity to explain why the Irish show jumping team should or should not (in the case of the FEI) be booking its ticket to Rio.
“It’s amazing, the contrast, from sitting in a highly-charged courtroom in Lausanne to sitting here in Olympia knowing I’ll be jumping in a puissance later on a horse I don’t even know,” said O’Connor.
“It was a long day on Wednesday at the CAS headquarters. It was a fair hearing and everyone got a chance to put their case across.
“Now, we just have to await the decision, which is expected in early January. We’ve waited this long, so another few weeks won’t make much of a difference and I understand that CAS needs to deliberate. I just hope it goes our way.”
The Olympic bronze medalist is, of course, aiming to grab the limelight in his preferred forum this weekend, the sporting arena.
However, his main horse, the aforementioned Good Luck, is already in Florida ahead of the Winter Equestrian Festival, as stallions require a lengthy quarantine period.
Instead,O’Connor partners his new horse Crespo PKZ at Olympia, while Super Sox is the preferred choice for Sunday’s World Cup class.
“I’m fortunate that my student Lillie Keenan has loaned me Super Sox, while I have Coco on loan from Emily Short.
“The good thing about geldings is that they only have two days of quarantine in the US, so they will fly there next Tuesday from Amsterdam.”
Next week, family take centre-stage.
“I will spend Christmas in the North with Ruth’s family, and Ben, who is now two, is just beginning to grasp the meaning of Christmas,” said O’Connor.
Meanwhile, Bertram Allen will also be aiming to boost his World Cup campaign at Olympia, having picked up six points on his first outing in Lyon, France, at the end of October, but failing to add to that the following week in Verona, Italy.
He rests Molly Malone after the mare’s outing in Geneva, Switzerland, last weekend, instead saddling up Belmonde, Hector Van D’Abdijhoeve and Quiet Easy 4. Tipperary’s Trevor Breen is also in action with Loughnatousa WB, while Waterford’s Anthony Condon is in action with Hadine Van’t Zorgvliet.
- Tipperary man Austin Broderick is exercised because the Irish quartet that won this year’s Aga Khan trophy is not on the short-list of nominees for the RTE team of the year award.
His son, Greg, featured on the team and, while he said this leaves him open to accusations of bias, he still believes the team warrants recognition.
“They should be on the short-list, at the very least. Of course you could say I am biased with my son Greg being on the team, but in reality they beat seven of the best teams in Europe and many of those are going to Olympics, so this achievement needs to be recognised.
“Also on the team, you had Bertram Allen, who’s in the world top 10, and Olympic bronze medalist Cian O’Connor, and Darragh Kenny, who has achieved big success in the US.
“The question is: How did RTÉ pick these teams? I’m not saying they deserve to win, but the team should be on the short-list.”
Well, RTÉ answered his question thus: The team of the year nominees are decided by a panel comprising of senior RTÉ sport staff, including editors and producers.
“The Irish equestrian team made the original long-list but, unfortunately, along with some other teams who had successful years in 2015, they didn’t make the final short-list.”
The RTE team of the year nominees are: Dublin footballers, Kilkenny hurlers, Cork camogie team, Cork ladies football team, Dundalk FC, Ireland men’s rugby team, Ireland women’s rugby team, Ireland men’s hockey team, Ireland boxing team, Republic of Ireland soccer team, Northern Ireland soccer team, Special Olympics team, and the Ireland women’s cricket team.
- Dressage rider Judy Reynolds has climbed a further two places in the World Cup rankings after she finished ninth in the freestyle to music competition at London’s Olympia on Wednesday.
The Kildare-born rider scored 73.525% on Joe and Kathleen Reynolds’s Jazz gelding Vancouver K, lifting her to 13th overall in the World Cup league table.
Reynolds is aiming to be the first Irish rider to qualify for the final in Gothenburg, Sweden, next March and she is also trying to book her ticket to compete as an individual rider for Ireland at next year’s Olympics.
