September 28, 2022 
Beginning in early October, US Equestrian will create a new Chief of Sport position entrusted to the ever-so-capable hands of decorated U.S. eventer, David O’Connor.
Just how decorated? Well, O’Connor earned individual gold and team bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, and team silver at the 1996 Atlanta Games. He then went on to an esteemed career at USEF, serving as President from 2004 to 2012, and later on the FEI Board of Directors.
In other words, O’Connor is more than qualified for the job.
And while he may be more likely to sport a suit and tie in place of cross-country body protection these days, there’s nothing square about this eventing legend. Here are 10, slightly obscure and endlessly entertaining facts you might not know about David O’Connor, US Equestrian’s new Chief of Sport.
1.
O’Connor’s British-born mother Sally was a writer, rider, and dressage judge. As a child, she took O’Connor and his brother Brian on a 3,000-mile ride across the United States of America—a journey which took 14 weeks to complete. And they did it just for fun.
2.
O’Connor’s first big career break came at age 17 when he was spotted by famed eventing coach Jack Le Goff, who helped him join the training sessions for developing riders at USET in Massachusetts. The rest, as they say, is history.
3.
O’Connor’s Stonehall Farm in The Plains, Virginia is located on a legit mountain (like, a 1,200-foot tall mountain). He uses the property’s 600-foot incline on either side to train his horses on galloping uphill—always key for cross country.
4.
The O’Connors’ “double-decker” bank barn in Virginia dates to 1820. It contains two stories, with four horses on top and four below.
5.
O’Connor is a serious record-setter. In 1996, he and his wife Karen O’Connor became the first couple to compete on the same Olympic team and medal at the Atlanta Games (they took home team silver). David also set records at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he earned the individual gold medal with Custom Made thanks to his record-breaking dressage score.
6.
David and Karen O’Connor lived and trained in England for five years in close proximity to 15 other event riders and friends, all at the top of their sport. Their biggest takeaway from their time there? How British racehorses are trained in the gallops, a principle they’ve incorporated into their own farm and conditioning model for eventing.
7.
O’Connor’s Olympic, Pan American, and World Equestrian Games medal-winning partner, Giltedge (known as “Tex” in the barn), hated to have his head, ears, and forelock touched. After the medal ceremony at the 2002 World Equestrian Games—where Tex and O’Connor won gold—the gelding rubbed off his entire forelock, braid and all, in one fell swoop.
8.
The O’Connors’ Olympic medal-winning horses Giltedge, Custom Made, Panache, and Biko all retired in comfort together in the sprawling green fields of Stonehall Farm.
9.
In his spare, non-horsey time, O’Connor likes to read (he keeps a massive library) and plays golf.
10.
Together, David and Karen O’Connor have trained more than 100 riders over the course of their careers. One motto David loves to share with his students? “When you get an opportunity, grab it with both hands!”
Presumably he intends to do exactly that as US Equestrian’s Chief of Sport.
