Olympic Gold & Guinness - A Winning Combination!

Ireland's Cian O'Connor tastes Olympic Gold for the first time photo ©Athens2004

Cian O'CONNOR (IRL) - gold medallist
 
On how he will celebrate the first ever Olympic medal for Ireland in the Equestrian sport:
''I'll drink plenty of Guinness when I go home! I think that the Irish people will accept it with open arms. It is very good for the country as well as for the sport.''
 
On his expectation before the Games:
''I never expected something like that. I am absolutely delighted. The horse gave everything he had. Actually, the track suited me. I was very happy to pass the line of fences that everybody was afraid of. I felt very confident after the first round.''
 
On his horse WATERFORD CRYSTAL:
''I bought him from Germany four years ago and I arranged to have him only until after the Olympic Games in Athens. I'm doing some horse-dealing myself. He used to jump in Germany at the time. Now I will have to talk with the owner and see what I can do in order to keep him.
 
"He has been good and consistent all along. He has been jumping well all year, in the Nation's Cup in Rome and in Aachen, so I could say that everything came off of the day.''
 
On his background:
''I started riding at the age of 14 in a local riding centre in Ireland. I took jumping lessons when I was 17 and for the last six years I have been competing internationally.''

Rodrigo PESSOA (BRA) - Silver medalist
On winning the silver medal in a jumpoff in which Chris KAPPLER's (USA) horse was injured:
"It is never nice to defeat an opponent in this way. We want to find out why the horse got injured. I have mixed feelings, I didn't want to do it that way and I already told Chris that he is a super rider and that he is worth a medal."
 
On his different performances in round A and B:
"In the first round, I didn't feel so confident and I made a mistake after the water jump. My first round was poor. Then I felt more confident. I realised that the horse and rider combination proved that we had the possibility to win. I knew he had the power to do it. I didn't think of what had happened in Sydney and in the second round I believed that I could do a clear round."
 
On the horses injured during the Games:
"These horses are super-athletes and they are trained to do these jumps. Usually we don't have these kind of accidents, so I think an investigation of the ground should be made."
 
Chris KAPPLER (USA) - Bronze medalist
On his horse ROYAL KALIBER's injury in the jump-off:
"As we were approaching fence number 5, it looked as if there was something going on with the horse and I thought that he may have put his foot wrong. While we were jumping over the double vertical, his step looked funny again and I thought that the best thing to do was to stop."
 
On his horse ROYAL KALIBER:
"We have been working together since he was four. This horse has won so many competitions for me. He has been a great friend all these years. Before we came to Athens, we had in mind a good perfomance in the Nations Cup. I thought that if I didn't mess it up, he would perform well in the Individual."
 
On the Jumping course:
"Three horses went lame in Jumping over the past few days. Maybe the ground needs to be looked into. These horses need to jump high and wide fences. We must preserve their fitness and their health. When you take out so much of these horses, the ground needs to be 110 percent."