Cork Olympian Austin O'Connor has recorded Ireland’s best result in 62 years at the five-star Defender Burghley Horse Trials, after he partnered with 16-year-old gelding Colorado Blue to a superb runner-up finish at the Lincolnshire venue.
Three of the top four places were filled by Irish-bred horses.
O’Connor and Colorado Blue, bred by Kate Jarvey of Mellon Stud in Limerick, produced their best ever five-star dressage test on Friday when they scored 27.8, putting them in eighth place.
An outstanding cross country performance on Saturday where they jumped clear and added just 0.8 time penalties, moved them into second position.
The pair went on to secure a runner-up finish on Sunday with just one fence down in the final show jumping phase to complete a total score of 32.6 in second place, which is Ireland’s best Burghley result since Harry Freeman-Jackson won in 1963.
The only combination to finish ahead of O’Connor was Britain’s Rosalind Canter and Lordships Graffalo, who claimed the title for the second successive year.
Lordships Graffalo is the first horse to win both Burghley and Badminton twice, and he is only the third horse to win back-to-back Burghley's, following Priceless and Avebury.
"Being second to this lady [Rosalind Canter] is as good as winning because this combination, as history will show, is the best there is," said O'Connor afterwards, who was third behind Canter and Lordships Graffalo at Badminton in May.
"I am over the moon. To finish the year like this is unreal. My horse has been incredible. He is 16, but I think he thinks he’s six.
"He was mad fresh today and pulling my arms out, which is why we had a rail down, but it didn’t make any difference in the end.
"It’s surreal, he is an incredible horse. He has changed my career, I think he has changed eventing in Ireland, just his sheer consistency, there are very few horses in the world with that consistency at this level."
