On his recently acquired 12 year old stallion Copain du Perchet, Cian O’Connor took Ireland’s first win of the week at the five-star show in Treffen, Austria today.

In a massive 77-strong field lined out for the opening competition, the Irish rider was 52nd to jump and laid down a time of 65.17 seconds, cutting just over a tenth of a second off the time of the existing leader, Netherlands rider Jur Vrieling with Corporal VDL.

O’Connor then faced a long wait to see if his time could be beaten, but no other combination came close, leaving the Olympic bronze medallist to collect the 2,500 euro first prize.

The highest-placed Irish rider after O’Connor was Tipperary’s Denis Lynch, who brought Rmf Zecilie into 13th place in a time of 78.10 seconds, in the 1m45 competition.

Treffen’s Grand Prix takes place on Sunday afternoon.

Jack Burns