O'Connor 'threatened during horse show'
Threats were made against Irish international showjumper Cian O’Connor during the Dublin Horse Show last week, a senior equestrian official confirmed tonight.
Disgraced gold medallist Cian O’Connor said he had received threats and had been told by the Equestrian Federation of Ireland to put security on the horses picked for the Aga Khan trophy.
“They were quite serious, people were intimidated, people besides myself, I believe the president of the EFI also had received some threats and that’s in the hands of the authorities,” he said.
It is believed O’Connor reported the threats to gardaí.
The international team’s Chef d’Equipe, Eamonn Rice, who chooses which members of the squad selected to compete, said tonight he had to deal with a direct threat being made against a member of his team.
“I had to deal with the unprecedented situation of a direct threat being made to an Irish team member.
“I have passed the relevant information on this matter to the equestrian authorities,” he said.
Mr Rice denied he had been influenced by O’Connor in his selection of the team for Friday’s competition, an allegation made by showjumper Harry Marshall, who did not make the final selection.
“Let me say from the outset that in my long association with this sport, it has always been my understanding that when the Chef d’Equipe makes his final selection, then that is the only selection, and supersedes any discussions or tentative plans that may go on beforehand,” Mr Rice said.
“In this regard, the selection I made for the Aga Khan team at Dublin announced by me on Thursday night and given to the media, was the team that subsequently jumped on Friday.
“I made no changes after my final selection,” he said.
Mr Rice also said the failure by certain riders to comply with instructions he had given them prior to the show affected the final selection for Friday’s competition.
Marshall has said he will not compete again on a team with O’Connor after the disagreement over last week’s Nations Cup.
He has described the atmosphere within the showjumping squad as “appalling” since O’Connor returned to the team, having served a three-month ban for inadvertently giving his horse a banned substance.
Marshall’s resignation from the Irish team comes after he believed he had been selected to compete in Friday’s competition, only to find out an hour later he was not one of the four riders chosen.
Marshall blamed the army and O’Connor for putting pressure on the Chef d’Equipe to choose Capt Shane Carey above him.
Senior members of the sport have called for action to be taken to reform the selection process, and there were also calls for the Minister for Sport, John O’Donoghue, to intervene to calm the situation for the sake of the Irish equestrian industry.
Earlier today EFI president Avril Doyle said she would be asking for an in-depth review of the sport’s selection process to be undertaken as soon as possible after the Super League final in Barcelona on September 18.
The move comes after the resignation of two selectors, who walked out of a meeting of the International Affairs Committee of the Show Jumping Association of Ireland during a discussion over the selection of riders for last week’s competition.
The Irish team are in second-to-last place in the Samsung Super League after finishing fifth in the Aga Khan trophy in Dublin last week, and face relegation from showjumping’s top division.
