David O'Connor
Current Profile
David’s illustrious international career began at the 1986 CCI*** Alternate World
Championship in Bialy Bor, Poland, where he competed for the United States
Equestrian Team for the first time.
Winning the hearts of fans across the globe, David earned 3 Olympic medals,
including the history-making individual Gold aboard Custom Made, 2 Pan American
Games medals, and two World Equestrian Games Medals, most recently the Team
Gold with Giltedge.
He’s won Rolex twice as a three-star and once as a four-star. He’s won Fair Hill International CCI*** five times, and in 1997, he became only the
second American in history to win the coveted Badminton CCI****.
Along the way, David has always felt the responsibility to give back to the
sport he loves. Throughout his amazing career, he has maintained strong
involvement in the administrative side of the sport. He has overseen the
condensation of all horse organizations in the US under one governing body
– the United States Equestrian Federation, over which he now presides.
In 2003, David was awarded the prestigious Wofford Cup, which is given to
individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of Eventing in
a non-riding capacity. David was the first rider ever to receive this award.
In 2004, David officially retired from international competition. He was re-elected as president of USEF for the 2005-2009 term, and in this
capacity also works closely with the FEI, which is the international governing
body for all non-racing horse sports.
Following his outstanding and much decorated career as an equestrian athlete and
his subsequent retirement from international competition, David has taken his
passion for horses and eventing and expanded his equestrian career into
exciting new areas.
On the top of the list is his pursuit of an international coaching career. David has always enjoyed teaching and coaching - preparing talented riders to
shine in international competition.
He has now begun a new leg of his journey by accepting the position of coach of
the Canadian Eventing Team.
He conducts training sessions, teaches lessons and provides coaching at the
events for Canadian riders hoping to represent their country.
Under his guidance, the Canadians won the Team Silver Medal at the 2007 Pan Am
Games in Brazil.
As president of the United States Equestrian Federation, David is passionate
about the opportunity to promote all horse sports.
Through the USEF, all equestrian sports come together for the welfare of the
horse as well as to secure a level playing field for competitors.
David serves as the official spokesperson of the Federation on all matters
relating to its governance and direction.
He hopes to leave his mark on the Federation in a number of ways. David wants to encourage the human athletes to conduct themselves as stars and
be "fan friendly." They need to have a positive belief in what can happen with
increased popularity of equestrian sports.
He believes "it can be way bigger than just the competitor" - we should promote
our equine athletes as stars, too. He is excited about securing TV coverage of
Rolex, and is looking forward to working with the FEI to promote the 2010 World
Equestrian Games in Kentucky.
Another career path that David is passionate about is cross country course
design. Using his skill for asking questions of riders and their horses, David
has become a course designer for venues like the brand new Ocala Horse Park in
Ocala, FL; the NAYRC and Virginia */** at the Virginia Horse Center in
Lexington, VA; the CDCTA and Rubicon Horse Trials in Virginia; MCTA and
Waredaca in Maryland; and the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, Colorado.
David continues to be in great demand as a clinician, instructor and coach. In
addition to working with his expanding list of OCET students, David, along with
Karen, host summer camps to share their knowledge and experience with riders
from across the country.
Spring 2008 Update
In his keynote speech at the 2008 USEF annual meeting, David spoke about the
USEF
’s enhanced focus on the welfare of the horse, both inside and outside the
competition arena, over the past 4 years, but noted that there is much left to
do.
He announced his intention to continue in his position as President for another
term, and put forth a challenging agenda that includes the goal to reenergize
current USEF members and cultivate future leaders.
Toward that goal, David led the Federation in developing the USEF Youth Council,
bringing together young equestrians from all 18 affiliated breeds and
disciplines.
Under David’s leadership, the USEF formed the USHJA, improved the Drugs and Medication
Program, increased the Federation
’s financial stability and witnessed the success of our international teams. In the near future, he would like the board of directors to create additional
levels of membership beyond the competition ring to include all horse
enthusiasts.
In addition, he wants the marketing department to improve on sponsorship and
fund-raising for high-performance equestrians.
David lists marketing, fund-raising, United States Olympic Committee (USOC)
involvement and membership participation as fundamental components of a complex
challenge.
Encouraging the USEF to take advantage of the legacy of the 2010 World
Equestrian Games, David also wants the Federation to focus on establishing the
Kentucky Horse Park as the epicenter of equestrian sport.
He hopes that effort would increase interest and funding from outside sources,
resulting in a US research and training center similar to Warendorf or Saumur.
Specifically for eventing, David continues to work toward making the sport
safer, and believes that coaches and trainers must take an active role in
teaching and requiring riders to learn effective techniques of cross country
riding.
And, “they must be qualified themselves to teach the fundamentals...” David wants the USEF and the USEA to take a stronger stand on educating our
trainers and coaches.
He wants to see more requirements for riders to go preliminary and more still to
go intermediate.
“There has to be proof, nationally and internationally, that someone is competent
to compete and not just qualified to compete.
Adopting the yellow and red flagging system that the FEI has put into place is a
must.
” As a former international competitor, and in his current role as USEF President,
David will be a important part of the discussions regarding the future of our
sport.
