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David John O’Connor was born on January 18, 1962 in Washington, D.C. USA to Jay and Sally O’Connor. He is one of two sons; Brian is his elder brother. His mother, Sally, was born in England and has been a dressage rider, judge and author.

David began riding at a young age and joined the Redland Hunt Pony Club in Maryland where his mother was the District Commissioner. At the age of 11 he participated in a cross-country ride from Maryland to Oregon with his mother and brother,covering 3,000 miles from May through September 1973.

In 1986, David began riding in international competition and competed in numerous high-level events as part of the U.S. team. He was selected as an alternate for the 1988 Summer Olympics. Riding Wilton Fair, he was part of the U.S. team at the 1990 World Equestrian Games, where he placed 35th individually and the team finished fourth. At the 1994 World Equestrian Games, he placed 44th individually riding On a Mission and was also an alternate for the team.  At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, David  finished fifth individually riding Custom Made and with Giltedge he also helped the team to a silver medal. 

At the 2000 Summer Olympics, again riding Custom Made, he won the gold medal and helped the U.S. team to a bronze medal aboard Giltedge. During the individual competition at the 2000 Games, he led each stage of the event, and made Olympic history with a record-breaking dressage score.  David and Custom Made won the 1997 Badminton CCI4*, becoming only the second American rider to do so. In the 1998 World Equestrian Games with Giltedge he finished sixth and helped the U.S .team to fourth place. Also with Giltedge, David won silver at the 1999 Pan American Games and contributed to the U.S. team’s gold medal performance. The pair also won team gold at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain. 

David was consistently ranked as one of the top three day event riders in the world by the FEI with a first place in 2000, third in 1997 and fourth in 1996. He was also the top eventing rider in the U.S., topping the USEA leaderboard, in 1998 and 1999. He was a three-time winner of the Rolex Lexington Kentucky Three Day Event; once at the CCI4* and twice at the CCI3* level.

Four horses ridden by David - Giltedge, Custom Made, On a Mission and Wilton Fair - have held positions in the list of the top 50 USEA high scoring horses.

In 2004, David retired from competition to focus on other aspects of the sport taking on administrative and coaching roles as well as being a 3 & 4* course designer. He was an FEI Bureau member from 2008-2011 and served as the President of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF)  from 2004 to 2012. In 2006, David was appointed the International Technical Advisor to the Canadian national eventing team. In that capacity, he led the team to silver medals at the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games. In January 2013, David left the Canadian team after being appointed chef d’équipe to the USEF eventing team.

David also enjoys reading, golf and carpentry.


2002 Team Gold FEI World Equestrian Games, Jerez, ESP (Giltedge)
2000 Individual Gold Medal 2000 Olympic Games Sydney AUS (Custom Made)
2000 Team Bronze Olympic Games  Sydney, AUS (Giltedge)
1999 Team Gold Pan American Games, Winnipeg, CAN (Giltedge)
1999 Individual Silver Pan American Games, Winnipeg, CAN (Giltedge)
1998 Team Bronze FEI World Equestrian Games, Rome, ITA (Giltedge)
1996 Team Silver Olympic Games, Atlanta, USA (Giltedge)
1996 5th Individual Olympic Games, Atlanta, USA (Custom Made)
1986 2nd World Championships CCI3* Bialy Bor, POL (Border Raider)

2004 1st Foxhall CCI3* USA (Outlawed)
2003 15th Burghley CCI4* (GBR Tigger Too)
2003 1st Jersey Fresh CCI2* USA (Gorta Glen)
2003 8th Bramham CCI3* GBR (Courting Danger)
2002 1st Fair Hill CCI3* USA (Custom Made)
2002 Team Gold FEI World Equestrian Games, Jerez, ESP (Giltedge)
2001 1st Fair Hill CCI3* USA (The Native)
2001 2nd Radnor CCI2* USA (Persistent Rain)
2001 1st Lexington, Kentucky CCI4* USA (Giltedge)
2000 Team Bronze Olympic Games Sydney, AUS (Giltedge)
2000 Individual Silver Olympic Games Sydney, AUS (Custom Made)
2000 2nd Lexington Kentucky CCI4* USA (Rattle ’N’ Hum)
1999 Team Gold Pan American Games, Winnipeg, CAN (Giltedge)
1999 Individual Silver Pan American Games, Winnipeg, CAN (Giltedge)
1999 1st Beaulieu CIC3* USA (Giltedge)
1998 Team Bronze FEI World Equestrian Games, Rome, ITA (Giltedge)
1998 6th FEI World Equestrian Games, Rome, ITA (Giltedge)
1997 1st Fair Hill CCI3* USA (Giltedge)
1997 2nd Fair Hill CCI3* USA (Lightfoot)
1997 3rd Punchestown CCI3* IRE (Giltedge)
1997 1st Badminton CCI4* GBR (Custom Made)
1996 Team Silver Olympic Games, Atlanta, USA (Giltedge)
1996 5th Olympic Games, Atlanta, USA (Custom Made)
1995 1st Fair Hill CCI3* USA (Giltedge)
1995 1st Lexington CCI4*, Kentucky USA (Custom Made)
1994 43rd World Equestrian Games, The Hague, NED (On A Mission)
1993 1st Fair Hill CCI3* USA (Wilton Fair)
1993 1st British Open, Gatcombe Park Horse Trials, GBR (Lighter Than Air)
1992 7th Badminton CCI4* GBR (Wilton Fair)
1990 1st Lexington, Kentucky CCI4* USA (Wilton Fair)
1988 Alternate Olympic Games, Seoul, KOR (Take The Rapids)
1986 2nd World Championships CCI3* Bialy Bor, POL (Border Raider)

FEI Biography
https://data.fei.org/Person/Performance.aspx?p=A8E9AA9C683A20A192AB07FCF6F259F6 

2012 Inducted to USEA Hall of Fame (Giltedge)
2009 Inducted to USEA Hall of Fame
2009 Inducted to USEA Hall of Fame (Custom Made)
2000 USEF Equestrian of the Year
2002 USEF Horseman of the Year
2002 USEF Equestrian Sportsman of the Year
2002 The Chronicle of the Horse Horse of the Year (Giltedge
2002 The Chronicle of the Horse Eventing Horse of the Year (Giltedge)
2001 USA Equestrian Horseman of the Year
2000 USEF Equestrian of the Year
2000 The Chronicle of the Horse Horseman of the Year
2000 The Chronicle of the Horse Eventing Horseman of the Year
2000 The Chronicle of the Horse Horse of the Year (Custom Made)
2000 The Chronicle of the Horse Eventing Horse of the Year (Custom Made)
1999 USCTA Horse of the Year (Rattle ’N’ Hum)
1999 The Chronicle of the Horse Eventing Horse of the Year (Rattle ’N’ Hum)
1999 USCTA Leading Rider
1998 USCTA Leading Rider
1998 Whitney Stone Cup
1997 USCTA Leading Rider
1997 USCTA Horse of the Year (Lightfoot)
1997 AHSA Zone 3 Champion Combined Training, Advanced Level (Giltedge)
1997 USOC Olympic Athlete of the Month (May)
1997 USET Rider of the Month (May)
1997 USOC Male Equestrian Athlete of the Year
1997 Virginia Horse Council Rider of the Year (David and Karen)
1996 USCTA Leading Rider
1996 USCTA Horse of the Year (Custom Made)

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