Austin O’Connor: Eyes on the Prize

In this episode of “In Stride,” Sinead is joined by Irish Olympic event rider Austin O’Connor. Austin O’Connor won the 2023 Maryland 5* at Fair Hill on Colorado Blue, making it the first CCI5*-L victory by an Irish rider in nearly six decades. Earlier in the 2023 season, Austin finished 3rd at Badminton on Colorado Blue. Austin has represented Ireland at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics, and 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where he placed 13th on Colorado Blue. In 2017, Austin was dubbed ‘cross country ride of the day’ with Kilpatrick Knight at Badminton CCI4*, earned a bronze medal in the Irish leg of the FEI Nations Cup at Tattersalls with Balham Houdini, and made an FEI European Championships appearance in Poland with Kilpatrick Knight. In 2020, Austin finished 3rd at the Little Downham CCI4*S and had a clear cross-country round at his first CCI5* at Pau. Austin is currently based in England at Alderbrook Stud, where he produces top-quality horses with his wife, Amy O’Connor. In this episode, Austin discusses various topics related to producing top horses for his competitive career, including: • The pressure of competing and learning to refocus when things don’t go as planned. • How he has designed his business to work with his competitive career. • His string of up-and-coming horses and the approach he takes to starting young horses. • His thoughts on frangible technology and designing courses for safety. • Representing Ireland in the Olympics and the management team’s involvement in his career. • What he looks for when it comes to finding horses with the potential to do a 4* or 5*. Join Austin and Sinead in this exciting conversation on producing and competing top horses.