Austin O'Connor, who made his Olympic debut in Sydney last year, is a non-starter for the European three-day event championships which get underway in Pau, France, in a fortnight. Horseware Fabio, the horse he rides for owner Tom McGuinness, has been ruled out on veterinary advice following a routine scan yesterday.
"It's just a bit of a tweak," Cork-born O'Connor said last night from his base in England. "I had no inkling there was a problem, because he's 110 per cent sound, but if we ran him he could be out for a year and you can't take that kind of risk with a good horse."
The 10-year-old gelding booked his place on the European squad at the final trial in Scarvagh last month, but his withdrawal comes as the latest in a series of setbacks for O'Connor.
A broken elbow in mid-July kept him out of the saddle for some time and he is back on the injured list after a show jumping fall with one of his Windsor runners, Ivan Idea at the weekend. "The ribs are a bit sore, but I'll be back riding at the weekend and then I think we'll call it a day and maybe head off to the Pardubice instead of Pau," he said.
The loss of Horseware Fabio from the European squad comes hot on the heels of the news that Sarah Ennis's Killossery Katriona and Irish Patriot, Eric Smiley's ride for Cecil and Dervla Quinn, have both been sidelined through injury. Jane O'Flynn and Braveheart have been drafted in as last-minute replacements.
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