O’Connor wins Arnhem jump-off

IRELAND’S Cian O’Connor collected just over 6,000 euro for a first place in the Longines-ranked jump-off class at Arnhem in the Netherlands today, riding Adena Springs’s bay mare Quidam’s Cherie.

A large 17-horse jump off saw the Meath-based rider deliver a determined fault-free round that stopped the clock at 37.93 seconds, a time that shaved three-tenths of a second off that of the previous leader, Netherlands competitor Stefanie van den Brink with the mare Baronescha.

Subsequent combinations were unable to catch O’Connor, who took the trophy in the three-star competition, beating 60 other riders.

Irish army rider Capt. Michael Kelly also achieved a top ten place, finishing in ninth with four faults in the jump-off on the Minister for Defence’s Irish Sport Horse Drumiller Lough.

Cian O’Connor and Quidam’s Cherie. Picture: Pixizone.com