Cian O’Connor and Horse Sport Ireland have failed in their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to have the result of the team final at the European Jumping Championships in Germany in August overturned.
O’Connor and his mount Good Luck suffered interference at Aachen’s main arena when a steward impeded the duo approaching the 11th fence.
The Ireland team of Bertram Allen, Greg Broderick, Denis Lynch and O'Connor finished seventh in the event and missed out on a team spot at the Rio Olympics by just 0.380 penalties, as Spain secured sixth place and the final qualification berth.
World title holders the Netherlands were crowned European champions, while Germany took silver and Switzerland claimed bronze.
Ireland filed an appeal to CAS on 11 September against the decision rendered by the FEI Appeal Committee on 22 August.
The CAS panel, who met on 16 December to deliberate on the case, will reveal their reasons for denying Ireland’s appeal in the weeks ahead.
Reacting to the news on Facebook, O’Connor stated in a post: “I have no regrets. I tried everything possible and left no stone unturned in trying to seek fairness for what I feel was an unsporting decision made by the ground jury in Aachen.
“It's time to move on and refocus on the sport rather than getting caught up further in bureaucracy and even more angry with officialdom.
“Team Ireland are first reserve because of the good performance at WEG in 2014 so there is always a chance that we will get there yet - so best to keep aiming for it I guess!!
“Another interesting chapter for my book when I get round to it and I look forward to telling the no-holds- barred version!!!”
Horse Sport Ireland chief executive Damian McDonald said: “We felt that we had made a strong case and we are very disappointed with the outcome. We will await the full reasoned judgement before making any further comment on the outcome.”
