Olympic medal winning showjumper Cian O’Connor ‘relieved’ as horses escape barn fire

Several units from Ashbourne and Dunshaughlin fire stations battled the blaze, which broke out in a large barn in the early hours of Wednesday morning at O’Connor’s Karlswood centre at Batterstown, Co Meath.

“All the animals were moved, and none hurt, while vehicles were also saved when the fire broke out around 3am that morning,” said a spokesperson for Meath Fire Brigade.

The blaze was brought under control before it could reach nearby stables.

Cian and his wife and two young sons live on the site, which has been developed into a state-of-the-art high performance equestrian centre.

“One of the barns went on fire and we have multiple barns in the place, and we were able to accommodate all our horses in-house. We are very lucky and relieved,” Cian (44) told the Sunday World.

The centre is owned by O’Connor’s parent company Ronnoco, whose two directors are the showjumper and his father Tadgh.

The Karlswood centre has been heavily developed with the site…

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Independent.ie