While Grace Davison was marking her very first birthday, Irish eventer Austin O’Connor was already competing in his second Olympic Games in Beijing 2008. Although the equestrian events were held in Hong Kong, not Beijing itself, O’Connor played a key role in helping Ireland secure an eighth-place finish in the team competition.
READ: New York Businesses Ordered to Require Masks Indoors or Vaccine Proof
Austin O’Connor
Now 16 years old, Co. Down freestyle swimmer Davison is the youngest member of the Irish team for Paris 2024. In contrast, O’Connor, who turns 50 in December, is the senior member of the squad and will be competing in his fourth Olympic Games. He will be riding his talented grey gelding, Colorado Blue, a partnership that has shown promising form and is expected to be a strong contender for a podium finish.
O’Connor’s journey to his fourth Olympics is emblematic of the path taken by many top Irish equestrians. Raised in north Cork, his early life was steeped in equestrian culture, as his parents bred and traded sport horses. Although surrounded by thoroughbred racing, O’Connor’s focus remained firmly on eventing.
“I spent some time with national hunt trainer Michael Hourigan in Limerick many years ago, before the Beef or Salmon era,” O’Connor recalls. “It was a valuable experience, but I always knew the path I wanted to follow.”
His breakthrough came at 19 when he was part of the ‘Young Ireland’ team that won gold in Germany. To accelerate his career, he relocated to Cornwall, England, to work with a Dutch rider he had met on the international circuit. What was meant to be a brief stay turned into a 29-year tenure.
“I went to England 29 years ago,” O’Connor explains. “I initially worked for the Wiegersma family in Cornwall. Despite my previous experience, I started from the bottom again, worked hard, and gradually opportunities began to arise.”
After four formative years with the Wiegersmas, O’Connor established his own stables in Worcestershire on New Year’s Day, 1999. Success followed quickly. His first notable success came with Simply Rhett, whom he rode to a fourth-place finish at Badminton just six months later. Around the same time, he began working with Horsewear Fabio, a nine-year-old gelding owned by Dundalk businessman Tom McGuinness, who would take him to the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
“Each Olympics has been unique,” O’Connor says. “Sydney was an incredible experience with full participation in the village and ceremonies. I had just started my own business in the UK and Fabio was my first horse. Sydney was a surreal and memorable experience, even if I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time.”
Although Fabio was lost to a suspected heart attack at the European Championships in Punchestown three years later, O’Connor’s career continued to flourish. His second Olympic appearance came in 2008 with Hobby Du Mee, and he competed again in Tokyo 2021 with Colorado Blue.
“The Beijing competition was actually held in Hong Kong, so I didn’t get the full Olympic experience,” O’Connor notes. “Tokyo was during the pandemic, and as a late reserve, I spent most of my time in a hotel, missing out on the village experience.”
In Paris, the equestrian events will take place in Versailles, an hour west of the city. Although the location means O’Connor and his team will be somewhat separated from the main Olympic festivities, he remains excited.
“It will be more like a traditional equestrian competition,” O’Connor says. “We won’t be in the heart of the Games, but I’m thrilled for Paris 2024. After Sydney, China, and Tokyo, it feels like a home Olympics and is logistically simpler.”
Colorado Blue, or ‘Salty’ as he is affectionately known, was acquired through O’Connor’s long-standing association with producer Kaye Jarvey. Recognizing his exceptional talent, O’Connor formed a syndicate to buy the horse and retain him for competition.
“I’ve had Salty from the start,” O’Connor explains. “Kaye Jarvey, who has been an owner for over 20 years, bred him. Although I was meant to sell him, I was fortunate to retain him with a syndicate. We didn’t know he would go to two Olympics, but we knew he was special.”
Now 15 years old, Salty is in peak form, having secured third place at Badminton last year—Ireland’s first podium finish there in over forty years. They also claimed victory at a five-star event in Maryland, Ireland’s first top-level win in 58 years.
O’Connor praises Salty’s qualities: “He has great bloodlines and a strong desire to perform. Although we never know how far a horse will go, he has always shown exceptional ability and heart. As we’ve progressed, he’s only grown stronger and more impressive.”
With the enthusiasm and passion of a young athlete, O’Connor is looking forward to Paris 2024, ready to make his mark on the Olympic stage once again.
