THE IRISH FIELD, Saturday, December 31, 2011

A38

ALL IN MY STRIDE

>> Cian OConnor

Feel free to email your views to cian@cianoconnor.com To not question ourselves or our industry and to turn a blind eye to the stagnant state of play is disingenuous to the sport we all love
ately create debate and discussion. To not question ourselves or our industry and to turn a blind eye to the stagnant state of play is disingenuous to the sport we all love. As Ive said before, political correctness has been overplayed in my view, and as many are reliant on grace and favour, its obviously easier for them to go with the grain. Only recently there was a letter in this paper thanking everybody under the sun it reminded me of a skit on Barry McGuigan Thank you very much, Mister Eastwood! I feel that my observations have made people sit up and think. Raising your head above the parapet isnt always a way to make new friends and while I perhaps didnt get a Christmas card from some quarters, I know my comments havent all fallen on deaf ears! I have archived all 31 articles that I have written on my website cianoconnor.com under The Irish Field page. For now, I say farewell. With my new wife and a hectic year planned ahead, I will concentrate my energies on a few new ventures. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing All In My Stride. Im taking a sabbatical, but Im not going away! Happy new year to you all.

Onwards
& upwards
Of the six horses, four of them I have only ridden in a few classes so Palm Beach will allow me to gel with them and with the more experienced ones there will be an opportunity to put a dent in the costs by hopefully picking up some good prize money towards the end of circuit. I have studied the show schedule for the whole of 2012. I have mapped out Plan A, if all goes accordingly but as you all know with horses, Plans B and C need to be on standby because of the uncertainty of the game. I find it vital to have a major goal each year and several mini goals en route to help me achieve my masterplan, without however compromising the main agenda. I competed in Olympia before Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed the show. It is an incredible experience to ride there. This year Dermott Lennon gave us all a riding lesson in belief and he followed his plan and conquered with conviction. He would have been a very long price to be third in the World Cup and win the Grand Prix in everyones mind except his own. He felt the horses were coming right and a few weeks before London he was talking about trying to go there. He made a plan and followed it.

Cian OConnor says farewell for the moment as he enters a new chapter in his life

HEN you read this article it will be New Years Eve my wedding day. Im so excited and just hope it turns out to be as amazing as weve planned and surpasses all Ruths expectations. 2011 has been a wonderful year. My business has developed several new contacts in various continents and as a result it saw many of my horses getting sold into new markets during the season. Already I think I have developed a brand new team of topclass horses which I hope will be ready to win in the summer of 2012. Its always exciting acquiring new mounts and taking time to develop them and build a winning partnership. This is why I sent six of my best horses to Florida last week where I will campaign them at the Winter Equestrian Festival, which gets underway in January and runs for 12 weeks.

With a busy year ahead, Cian OConnor takes a break from his column
For me, his success throws up something that I touched in other articles, i.e. top riders always have a chance of delivering on the highest stage regardless of the form of their mounts. Form fluctuates but class remains constant. Facing into a new year always raises new hope and bright opportunities to succeed. Unfortunately though, there is no easy road to success in any walk of life and you get back what you put in. I have been overwhelmed with the positive emails and letters that I have received since starting this column. I would like to thank Irish Horse World editor, Sascha Geraghty, for allowing me to freely express my forthright views on some topics views that maybe did not reflect the opinion of The Irish Field itself and which may have got up the noses of those in authority, but I believe authority has a constant companion in responsibility to its stakeholders. In my mind thats what a good editor does allows columnists to air their opinions, whether she might agree with them or not. My criticism on various topics is intended to deliber-

Cian OConnor is an international show jumper based in Co Meath