David John O'Connor (born January 18, 1962) is a retired

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

who represented the United States in the sport of

three-day eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

. He competed in two Olympic Games, winning a team silver at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

and an individual gold and team bronze at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. At the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

, O'Connor took an individual silver and team gold and at the 2002 World Equestrian Games he assisted the US team to gold. After his retirement from competition in 2004, he became involved in the administrative side of international eventing. O'Connor has held top coaching roles for the US and Canadian national eventing teams, and was president of the United States Equestrian Federation from 2004 to 2012. During his career, O'Connor and his horses were awarded many honors, including equestrian and horse of the year awards from several organizations. In 2009, he was inducted to the

United States Eventing Association The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is the organization responsible for organizing, promoting and adjudicating equestrian eventing in the United States. Formerly known as the United States Combined Training Association, the USEA is a 501(c ...

's Hall of Fame, and two of his horses have been granted the same honor. O'Connor is married to fellow international event rider

Karen O'Connor Karen Lende O'Connor (born February 17, 1958) is an American equestrian who competes in three-day eventing. Although she did not come from a family of equestrians, her interest in horses started at an early age, and she received her first hor ...

, and the pair operate two equestrian training facilities in the eastern United States.

Personal life

O'Connor was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

His English-born mother, Sally O'Connor, was a dressage rider, judge and author. David began riding at a young age, and as a child participated in a cross-US horseback ride with his mother and brother, covering 3,000 miles over several months. O'Connor married fellow equestrian

, also an international three day event rider, on June 26, 1993. The pair became the first married couple to compete on the same US Olympic equestrian team when they rode with their team to a silver medal at the

. They rode to a second shared medal at the

, again marking a historical Olympic moment as the first husband and wife duo to do so. They operate equestrian training facilities in

The Plains, Virginia The Plains is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. The population was 245 as of the 2020 census, up from 217 at the 2010 census. It is centered on the intersection of VA 55 (John Marshall Highway) and VA 245 (Old Tavern Road). The ...

and

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

. When not involved in equestrian activities, O'Connor enjoys reading and golfing.

Career

Competitive career

In 1986, O'Connor began riding in international competition for the US. Early in his career, O'Connor competed in numerous high-level events as part of the US team. He acted as an

alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

(substitute) rider at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. Riding Wilton Fair, he was part of the US team at the

1990 World Equestrian Games The 1990 FEI World Equestrian Games were held in Stockholm, Sweden from July 24 to August 5, 1990. They were the first edition of the games which are held every four years and run by the FEI. Events 13 events in 6 disciplines were held in Sto ...

, where he placed 35th individually and the team took fourth. At the

1994 World Equestrian Games The 1994 FEI World Equestrian Games were held in The Hague, Netherlands from July 27 to August 7, 1994. They were the second edition of the games which are held every four years and run by the FEI. Events 13 events in 6 disciplines were held in ...

, he placed 44th individually riding On a Mission and again acted as an alternate for the US team. O'Connor competed in two Olympic Games for the United States. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, he took fifth place individually, riding

Custom Made Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...

. Riding a second horse,

Giltedge Giltedge was a Irish Sport Horse that was ridden by American David O'Connor at the international level in the sport of eventing. Giltedge, formally known as Giltex, was bought by Jackie Mars from Irish eventer Eric Smiley as a mount for Ameri ...

, he also helped the US team to a silver medal. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, again riding Custom Made, he took the gold medal, and helped the US team to a bronze aboard Giltedge. During the individual competition at the 2000 Games, he led each stage of the event, and made Olympic history with a record-breaking

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

score. Observers called the ride "accurate and precise with good cadence throughout." At the 1997

Badminton Horse Trials The Badminton Horse Trials is a eventing, five-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International, Concours Complet International (CCI) Five Star events as classified by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, Fédér ...

, O'Connor and Custom Made won the CCI4*, the top event at the trials, becoming only the second American pair to do so. In the

1998 World Equestrian Games The 1998 FEI World Equestrian Games were held in Rome, Italy from October 1 to October 11, 1998. They were the 3rd edition of the games which are held every four years and run by the FEI. Events 11 events in 5 disciplines were held in Rome. ...

, O'Connor, riding Giltedge, took an individual sixth place and helped the US team to a fourth place. Again riding Giltedge, O'Connor won silver at the

and assisted the US team to a gold medal. The pair also rode to a team gold at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain. O'Connor was consistently ranked as one of the top three day event riders in the world by the

Fédération Équestre Internationale The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from physical abu ...

, holding fourth place in 1996, third place in 1997 and first place in 2000. He was also the top eventing rider in the US, topping the

(USEA) leaderboard, in 1998 and 1999. He was a three-time winner of the

Rolex Kentucky Three Day The Kentucky Three-Day Event, currently the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event due to sponsorship, is an eventing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Land Rover Kentucky is a CCI5*-L eventing competition. Five st ...

, once at the CCI4* level and twice at the CCI3* level.

Administrative career

In 2002, both Custom Made and Giltedge were retired from competition. In 2004, O'Connor retired from competition and quickly became involved in administrative aspects of the three-day eventing world. He served as the President of the United States Equestrian Federation from 2004 to 2012. In 2006, O'Connor was appointed the International Technical Advisor to the Canadian national eventing team. In that capacity, he led the team to silver medals at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

and the

2010 World Equestrian Games The 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games (officially the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games) were held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. from September 25 to October 10, 2010. This was the sixth edition of the FEI World Eques ...

. In January 2013, O'Connor left the Canadian team after being appointed chef d'équipe to the US national eventing team.

Awards and honors

The USEA named O'Connor their Rider of the Year in 1996 and 1997, and in the same years named O'Connor's horse Lightfoot was the Horse of the Year. O'Connor was also named ''

The Chronicle of the Horse ''The Chronicle of the Horse'' is an American weekly equestrian magazine.Mary Fishback, ''Northern Virginia's Equestrian Heritage'', Arcadia Publishing, 200/ref> It covers dressage, hunters and jumpers, eventing, foxhunting and steeplechase racin ...

's'' Eventing Horseman of the Year in 1996, in combination with his wife, Karen. In 1997, O'Connor was awarded the Whitney Stone Cup, an annual award by the United States Equestrian Federation which honors "an active competitor who displays consistent excellence in international competition and high standards of sportsmanlike conduct while serving as an ambassador for the United States and equestrian sport." In 1998, Lightfoot was named the USEA Horse of the Year, and in 1999, another O'Connor horse, Rattle & Hum, was awarded the honor. Rattle & Hum also took home ''The Chronicle of the Horse's ''Eventing Horse of the Year in 1999. The following year, ''The Chronicle of the Horse'' named O'Connor both Overall Horseman and Eventing Horseman of the Year, and his horse, Custom Made, was named both Overall Horse and Eventing Horse of the Year. Two years later, in 2002, Giltedge, O'Connor's other main horse, was named both Overall Horse and Eventing Horse of the Year. The United States Equestrian Federation named O'Connor their Equestrian of the Year twice, in 2000 and 2002. Also in 2002, O'Connor was awarded the USA Equestrian Sportsmanship Award. In 2009, O'Connor and Custom Made were inducted into the USEA Hall of Fame, and in 2012 Giltedge was awarded the same honor. As of 2013, four horses ridden by O'Connor (Giltedge, Custom Made, On a Mission and Wilton Fair) held positions in the list of the top 50 USEA high scoring horses.

References

External links

O'Connor Event Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, David 1962 births Living people American event riders Equestrians at the 1996 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in equestrian Equestrians at the 1999 Pan American Games People from Gaithersburg, Maryland American male equestrians Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Olympic silver medalists for the United States in equestrian Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in equestrian Pan American Games medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games