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Karen O'Conner
- 2007 Pan American Games Individual Gold
- 2003 Pan American Games Individual Silver
- 2000 Olympics - Team Bronze
- 1996 Olympics - Team Silver
- 1988 Olympics
- Karen (along with her husband, 2000 Olympic Gold medalist David – with whom she shares two Olympic team medals) has been an instrumental part of the U.S. team since the late 1980s.
- Karen’s first major placing came at the Badminton CCI**** on March Brown in 1979.
- Her first team appearance was in 1986 on Lutin V at the Gawler World Championships in Australia.
O'Conner was always known for riding giant horses like Biko and Prince Panache to Olympic medals. Then a pony named Theodore O’Connor came into her life. A crowd favorite due to his pony classification and inordinate jumping ability, Theodore O’Connor was third behind two very experienced horses at the 2007 Rolex Kentucky CCI****, assuring himself selection for the Pan Am Team. He leapt his way onto the international stage at his first four-star adding only a handful of cross-country time faults to his dressage score.
“He doesn’t know how small he is,” said O’Connor of Theodore O’Connor or “Teddy” as he is known. “To ride him he feels like a giant.”
Karen has a storied career finding success on three different continents. Karen’s first major placing came at the Badminton CCI**** on March Brown in 1979. She then won the Boekelo CCI*** on The Optimist in 1984 and the Chesterland CCI*** on Castlewellan in 1985. Her first team appearance was in 1986 on Lutin V at the Gawler World Championships in Australia. She has won CCI***s at Punchestown, Foxhall, Rolex Kentucky and twice at Fair Hill International. With Prince Panache, she won the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in 1999. She was a member of the 1988 Olympic team, a team silver medalist at the 1996 Olympics, and a Team Bronze medalist at the 2000 Olympics. She was part of the World Championship squad in 1994 and 1998, picking up a Team Bronze medal in 1998, she also rode Upstage as an individual in 2006 in Aachen. Good performances at the CCI*** with her less experienced horses, Allstar (sixth at the Jersey Fresh CCI***) and Hugh Knows (fifth at Fair Hill International CCI***) as well as the very promising Mandiba assures that she has a strong string of horses in her barn for 2008.
Karen is involved in the sport at every level, she serves on the USEF Board of Directors, is very active in the United States Equestrian Association (USEA) Instructor Certification Program and teaches riders of all ages. When she’s not riding or doing horse related activities, Karen spends time with her family and her dogs.
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Born: 17-Feb-1958
Resides: The Plain, Virginia
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