HORSE SHOWS
Good Luck Impresses With
A Big Win In Ocala
This rising star tops the leaderboard in style with
Cian O’Connor aboard.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY MOLLIE BAILEY
Cian O’Connor’s new partner Good Luck
showed plenty of scope on his way to the
$50,000 Live Oak International CSI-W title.
52 The Chronicle of the Horse
HORSE SHOWS
T
he startlist for the $50,000
Live Oak International
CSI-W included plenty of
ambitious riders, eager to
do well in the last North American
qualifier for the upcoming Longines
FEI World Cup Final. As half a
dozen riders jockeyed for the points
to secure an invitation to Las Vegas,
Cian O’Connor had a much different
goal: He just wanted to test out his
relatively green mount, Good Luck, on
grass. And the stallion outdid himself,
rising to the top of the 46-horse class
to earn blue for the Irish rider and
owner Adena Springs.
Only Beezie Madden and Vanilla
joined O’Connor in the jump-off,
and when Madden’s mare ticked the
second-to-last fence, O’Connor laid
down a steady clear for the win.
O’Connor was thrilled that the horse
he believes in so strongly produced his
first major win over a serious track.
“One of the best horses I ever had
was Waterford Crystal, 15 years ago,”
said the Irish rider, who won individual bronze at the 2012 London
Olympic Games on Blue Lloyd. “I’ve
had a lot of nice ones since, but I don’t
think I’ve had one like this. This is a
different league.”
A Mixed Field
While combined driver Chester
Weber’s Live Oak farm has hosted
the Live Oak CAI for the last 23 years,
three years ago they added show
jumping to the calendar. Spectators
flocked to the Ocala, Fla., facility on
March 22 for a morning of driving
marathon, followed by the CSI-W
class in the afternoon, and they had
plenty to watch. Leopoldo Palacios
built a tough course for the competitors, with rails flying all over the track
and a snug time allowed.
Two riders, Kirsten Coe (Czardas
30) and Scott Keach (Viriato) kept
all the rails in the cups but tripped
the timers 1 and 2 seconds too slow,
respectively.
“I just wanted to ride my round and
try to be clean,” said O’Connor, 35. “I
don’t think I focused too much on the
time. I just kept the rhythm. It was a
difficult course, with plenty of catches
on the course, and the time being tight
forced you to rush.
“These are good horses in the top
three, and I think the cream always
comes to the top,” he continued.
“Kirsten’s horse jumped brilliant last
week as well, and Beezie’s horse is
ever consistent. I’m happy to be in
such good company.”
Three riders were eliminated, and
five tipped their hats, while another
eight amassed at least 18 penalties. But
O’Connor pointed out the track wasn’t
solely to blame. The class’s two-star
qualification allowed lower-ranked
riders to compete, but as a qualifier it
was set to World Cup standards, which
meant riders would be competing over
a true 1.60-meter course.
“There’s two-star clientele
attempting to jump [a] World Cup
[course],” he said. “It gets hard.”
Most of the riders in the top 12 of the
East Coast League saddled up horses
for a go. Coe was just still floating the
day after posting a slow clear round
on Czardas 30 at the AIG $1 Million
Grand Prix at HITS Thermal (Calif.)
when she heard that her ticket to
Vegas was in jeopardy.
“When I heard that Charlie [Jayne],
Brianne [Goutal] and Katie [Dinan]
were all heading here, I changed
my plans really quickly,” she said.
“I really had no plans to come, but I
think we called Chester three days ago
and asked him. I was always coming
for the [Great American $1 Million
Grand Prix (Fla.) (see p. 22)], but I was
hoping that the points were done, but
they clearly were not.”
Czardas, a Hanoverian stallion
(Contendro—Grannina, Grannus),
competed with McLain Ward mostly
at the 1.45-meter level until this time
last year, and Coe has started stepping
him up to the bigger classes. She’s
planning to take him to Las Vegas, as
well as her other top mount, Baronez.
O’Connor’s Ferrari
Madden thought long and hard about
which track to take in the jump-off
aboard Vanilla, who’s by Nabab de Reve
and out of her Pan American Games
double gold medalist partner Coral Reef
Via Volo.
“Before I went in we asked the
course designer, and he said he had
$50,000
LIVE OAK
INTERNATIONAL
GRAND PRIX CSI-W
Ocala, Fla.—Mar. 22
HORSE/RIDER/
NATION
FAULTS
TIME
PURSE
1. Good Luck/Cian
O'Connor/IRL
0-0
56.00
$16,500
2. Vanilla/Beezie
Madden/USA
0-4
48.32
10,000
Also competed: 3. Czardas 30/K. Coe/USA, 1; 4.
Viriato/S. Keach/AUS, 2; 5. Ballade Van Het Indihof/B.
Goutal/USA, 4; 6. Chill R Z/C. Jayne/USA, 4; 7.
Flexible/R. Fellers/USA, 4; 8. Flaming Star/C. Jacobs/
USA, 4; 9. Davendy S/J. Springsteen/USA, 4; 10.
Nouvelle/L. Kraut/USA, 4; 11. VDL Wizard/C. Solem/
USA, 4; 12 Coral Reef Follow Me II/V. Karrasch/USA,
5; 13. Bobby/C. Sorensen/CAN, 6; 14. Holala Z/C.
Heurtematte/GUA, 7; 15. Fifty Fifty/A. Rodriguez/
VEN, 8; 16. HH Whisky Royale/Q. Judge/USA, 8; 17.
Indigo/M. Engle/USA, 8; 18. Al Calypso/M. Hache/
DOM, 8; 19. Conthendrix/A. Thieme/GER, 8; 20. Z
Canta/C. Pasmore/USA, 8; 21. Polias De Blondel/A.
Paillot/FRA, 9; 22. Stakorado/K. Dinan/USA, 9; 23.
Cat Ballou/M. Ashe/USA, 9; 24. Athena/C. Reid/
USA, 12; 25. Brando Du Rouet/K. Webby/NZL, 12;
26. Wayfarer/P. Leone/USA, 13; 27. Calida/K. Timm/
CAN, 13; 28. Dobra De Porceyo/S. Riley/USA, 14;
29. MacArthur/M. Hughes/USA, 16; 30. Matilda/T.
Erwin/AUS, 17; 31. Quincy Car/F. Cardenas/COL, 18;
32. Robin De Ponthual/P. Lutz/USA, 21; 33. Adamo
Van't Steenputje/A. Ramsay/USA, 21; 34. Corino/S.
Wordley/NZL, 23; 35. Deko De Landetta Z/N. Walker/
CAN, 25; 36. Call Me Hannes/D. Beisel/USA, 26; 37.
Viego Les Hauts/V. Gulliksen/NOR, 26; 38. Coralina/H.
Waters/USA, 29; Quick Blue Z/K. Abrahamson/USA,
E; Disaronno/S. Parot/CHI, E; Venus/A. Karolyi/VEN,
E; Utan/A. Covert/CAN, VW; Taloubet/P. Filho/ESA,
VW; William Wallace/S. Parot Jr./CHI, VW; Zander/B.
Mändli/SUI, VW; Valencia/D. Kenny/IRL, VW.
narrowed [that] quite a bit, and that
was when I made the decision to go
inside,” said Madden. “I wanted to
put enough pressure on Cian that he
messed up.”
With a rail in hand, O’Connor let
Good Luck, a 9-year-old Belgian
Warmblood stallion (Canturo—
Famosa, Furioso II) gallop around
comfortably and leave all the rails in
the cups for the win.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t
exciting. The stands were buzzing
at Good Luck’s extraordinary scope,
clearing every fence with plenty of
room to spare. O’Connor is still testing
out the horse’s gears, having just
paired up with him in November, but
he has his sights firmly locked on the
Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games
(Brazil).
“He’s got a big stride, and he’s
super careful, and it’s just a quesApril 6, 2015 • chronofhorse.com 5 3
HORSE SHOWS
When you buy a green
horse and you’re talking about
the Olympics, part of what
you’re saying is based on hope
and experience.”
—CIAN O’CONNOR
tion of getting him into a nice rhythm
and trying to keep him relaxed,” said
O’Connor, who’s based in Dublin. “He’s
very quiet to work with around the
stable—a child could ride him—but
when he goes to the jump he’s like a
Ferrari. He’s raring to go. It’s just taken
me a little while to get to know him.”
O’Connor convinced sponsor
Frank Stronach of Adena Springs
Beezie Madden and
Vanilla ticked a single
rail in the jump-off to
finish second in the
$50,000 Live Oak CSI-W.
54 The Chronicle of the Horse
to invest in “Luke” last November,
impressed with the horse’s sheer
ability. He’d just been jumping 1.45meter tracks with Fabrice Galdini in
Europe, but O’Connor was sure he
would be a winner. He wanted to get
the horse on grass to prepare for the
European season, and he’s already
looking toward the FEI European
Championships (Germany) this
August, which serve as a qualifier for
the 2016 Olympic Games.
“I really put my neck out to get him,
and to get a result like this so early on in
the partnership really sets me up well,”
said O’Connor, who also trains Stonach’s
granddaughter, Nicole Walker. “You
push, and you say, ‘This is the one! This
is the one!’ When you buy a green horse,
and you’re talking about the Olympics,
part of what you’re saying is based on
hope and experience. And then to have
it come through like this in a matter of
three months is very special.”
O’Connor credited his six-person
team from Ireland with keeping the
horses, both his and Walker’s, in top
shape for competition this winter.
“The team works so well as a unit,”
he said. “They’re up late and back
early. I know everyone does, but my
guys get a real kick out of doing it well,
and they always go the extra mile. I’m
so grateful to them.”
Czardas 30 is relatively
new to the 1.60-meter
level, and Kirsten Coe was
thrilled for him to finish in
third place with a single
time fault in the first round.
Live Oak International
Ocala, FL—Mar. 18-22.
$10,000 E2 LEADING RIDER AWARD: Cian
O'Connor.
LEADING LADY RIDER AWARD: Callan Solem.
LEADING AMATEUR RIDER AWARD: Chloe Reid.
STYLE OF RIDING AWARD: Chloe Reid.
s $34,000 Hollow Creek Farm Winning Round - 1.
Conthendrix, A. Thieme; 2. Chandon Blue, C. O'Connor;
3. Eckham Van Het Steentje, M. Engle. s $10,000
Waldron Wealth Management Welcome Speed
Stakes - 1. Quidam's Cherie, C. O'Connor; 2. Venus,
A. Karolyi; 3. Deko De Landetta Z, N. Walker. s 1.35M
Pasmore Stables Power & Speed - 1. Wings, A.
Karolyi; 2. Chandon Blue; Calvano VH Harteveld Z, S.
Parot Jr.
While many of the other competitors in the class headed up the road to
HITS Ocala for the Great American
$1 Million Grand Prix two days
later or prepared for the American
Final List Of Qualified
North American Riders
for the Longines FEI
World Cup Finals
FROM THE NORTH AMERICAN
LEAGUE-WEST COAST
Rich Fellers
Susan Artes
Karl Cook
Invitational (Fla.) as part of the Global
Champions Tour (Fla.), O’Connor’s
getting ready to head back to Europe.
“While these guys are chasing
millions I have to take the small
books,” he joked.
CORRECTION
The photo of Ghirardelli and Peggy
Dionne, which appeared in our
March 16 & 23 Horse Show Issue
with the Florida State Hunter Jumper
Association on p. 119, was incorrectly
credited. The photographer is Victoria
DeMore Photography.
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Katie Dinan
FROM THE FEI WESTERN
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April 6, 2015 • chronofhorse.com 5 5