David O’Connor has agreed to oversee the development of a new international calibre eventing course for Cedar Run Horse Park, located just west of Collingwood, two hours north of Toronto.
O’Connor, whose many accomplishments include winning Olympic individual gold and team silver medals as a member of the U.S. equestrian team, currently divides his time between coaching Team Canada (the Canadian riders just won gold and silver medals at Pan Am under his tutelage), serving as president of the U.S. Equestrian Federation and designing prestigious eventing courses for venues like the Florida Horse Park and the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. Now he is lending his expertise to help build Cedar Run’s inaugural preliminary-level eventing course, an essential first step towards readying the horse park for future competitions at the national and international level.
“This is an exciting move forward for the development of Canadian riders,” said Cedar Run president Peter Lush, noting that the course will be among only a select few in Canada designed to host advanced competitions.
An agreement was reached between Cedar Run and O’Connor in the wake of his recent visit to the park. “Cedar Run is a fantastic piece of ground for horses and people,” said O’Connor, who was instantly impressed by the park’s unique location. “I have seen very few facilities that have the ability to hold a multitude of competitions in many different disciplines at the highest levels,” he said.
In developing the new eventing course, O’Connor has laid out a master plan that will evolve with the site and can be re-configured for Intermediate and Advanced (Olympic level) competitions in the future. The world class track can also be reversed to add variety without the need for major changes.
“Cedar Run has the perfect footing and the lay of the terrain lends itself to an interesting and challenging competition for competitors,” commented O’Connor.
Many of the portable jumps designed by O’Connor are already under construction at an indoor facility and will be delivered to Cedar Run in early June when the noted equestrian will return to oversee development of the permanent jumps.
The course will be unveiled on July 29 at the first of two Ontario Horse Trials Association events scheduled to take place at Cedar Run in 2012, which include Dressage, Cross Country and Show Jumping events from Beginner to Preliminary levels. It is also expected to fill a gap for American equestrians looking for upper level competitions during the mid-summer months.
“This is exactly the kind of course we need to be on par with other countries such as England, Australia and the U.S. when it comes to rider development,” said Lush. “And we couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”
Riders interested in participating in the Cedar Run Ontario Horse Trials Association events must register nine days prior. Event details can be found at www.cedarrun.ca or www.horsetrials.on.ca.
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