The Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld the decision of the FEI concerning the protest of Cian O’Connor and Horse Sport Ireland, lodged during the FEI European Championships on August 22, 2015. A member of the ring crew ran in front of O’Connor’s horse Good Luck during the Team Final, the final qualifying event for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ireland was one fence away from earning a qualifying spot to Rio, and the subsequent rail that Good Luck had at the fence after the incident was blamed on the interference of the ring crew. O’Connor lodged a protest of interference, however the protest was rejected by the Ground Jury and the FEI Appeal Committee at the European Championships in Aachen, Germany. The hearing on December 17th at CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, was Horse Sport Ireland’s last chance at reversing the decision of the Ground Jury and gaining the points back to qualify for Rio. As of now, Spain holds the qualifying position. “I have no regrets,” O’Connor said today via his Facebook page. “I tried everything possible and left no stone unturned in trying to seek fairness for what I feel was an unsporting decision made by the ground jury in Aachen. It’s time to move on and refocus on the sport rather than getting caught up further in bureaucracy and even more angry with officialdom. Team Ireland are first reserve because of the good performance at WEG in 2014 so there is always a chance that we will get there yet- so best to keep aiming for it I guess!!”
