Irish eventer Austin O’Connor has pulled his horse Colorado Blue from the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event after a training setback. The pair, winners of the 2023 Maryland 5 Star, had been entered for the US five-star event scheduled for 23-26 April. O’Connor confirmed they will skip both this and the Mars Badminton Horse Trials.
Austin O’Connor and his 17-year-old horse Colorado Blue will not travel to the United States for the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. O’Connor told Horse & Hound that Colorado Blue suffered a setback in training, but he expects it to be short-term. “We’re going to give Badminton and Kentucky a miss this time, and hopefully have him back out in five or six weeks,” O’Connor said. The duo finished third at Badminton last year and were runners-up at Defender Burghley Horse Trials. They placed sixth in the four-star Grantham Cup at Thoresby Park over the weekend of 3-5 April as a preparation run for Kentucky, where O’Connor noted the horse was in great form before the issue arose. “It’s just one of those things. We’re going to miss a five-star this spring but it’s not the end of the world,” he added, looking ahead to the World Championships in Aachen from 11-23 August. Joseph Murphy has also withdrawn Belline Fighting Spirit from Kentucky but remains entered for Badminton. Padraig McCarthy’s Pomp N Circumstance is now the sole remaining Irish entry for the US CCI5* event, which has 35 starters left from an original 37.
