Irish junior event rider Ben Connors has been officially confirmed as World No.1 in the FEI Eventing Juniors World Rankings (Under-18), following an outstanding 2025 season in which he delivered top-class performances for Team Ireland at home and abroad.
The latest FEI rankings place Connors at the head of the Eventing Juniors World Rankings with 123 points, reflecting a season that included four top 10 finishes at CCI3* level and a 10th-place individual finish at the FEI Eventing European Championships for Young Riders in Strzegom, Poland, where he also helped Ireland win team silver.
Connors also made a successful step up to four-star level, finishing 7th on his CCI4* debut at Ballindenisk International 2.
A lifelong rider from Calverstown, Co Kildare, Connors grew up in a horse-mad family and has been competing since childhood. He first came to international attention as a pony rider (Under 16), winning team bronze and individual silver at the FEI European Pony Championships in Strzegom in 2021 with the Connemara gelding Cornafest Fred. He then went one better at the European Pony Championships in 2022 with a Team Gold and a second individual Silver medal performance. Connors finished off his pony career in 2023 with a Team Bronze medal having accumulated 5 medals.
Connors competes predominantly on Irish Sport Horses bred and produced through his family’s OLS programme, including OLS King Aragon, OLS Queen Bee and OLS Pixie Hollow. He purchased and produced his prolific European pony Cornafest Fred from a 6 year old and recently purchased Zuperlative which he has produced to 3 star level.
From a unique Irish eventing family, Ben is the youngest of four riding siblings. His older sisters Alex, Zara and Shannon have all represented Ireland in eventing, making the Nelson/Connors family one of the very few Irish households where four members have pulled on the green jacket in international competition and all four have won medals at European underage level.
Ben Connors said: “It’s a huge honour to be ranked World No.1 junior – I honestly didn’t expect to see my name at the top of the FEI list.
“None of this would be possible without my family, my trainers, sponsors and the owners who trust me with their horses and the support from Eventing Ireland and Horse Sport Ireland. The horses have been unbelievable this year and I’m excited to keep learning and hopefully step up to more senior teams in the future.”
Proud parents Michelle Nelson and Kieran Connors added: “Ben has worked incredibly hard for this, we are very proud of what he and his horses have achieved. He spent the summer working with Irish Olympian Susie Berry in the UK and he is very thankful for the time she invested in him.
“To see a young Irish rider from Co Kildare leading the world junior rankings is very special, it was a surprise to us when it was announced this week, we just got a phone call from a family friend saying she had seen it online. It speaks to the strength of the Irish eventing system, from pony level right up to the European/World/Olympic Championships.
“This year Ireland have managed to win a Team silver medal at senior medal, a Team silver medal at Under 21, have 3 Young riders ranked in the top 30 World rankings and have been awarded the inaugural Under 25 World Championships in 2026 at Millstreet.”