STEPHEN O’Connor is a man of many hats in the horse world – a racehorse owner, joint-master of the Ward Union Hunt, a member of the Royal Dublin Society and, through The Underwriting Exchange, a sponsor of Irish show jumping at both national and international level.

O’Connor, who says he is “on the wrong side of 50,” was encouraged in his various early equestrian endeavours by his parents Philip and Una. His father was on the Equestrian Committee of the RDS for a number of years while, at the same time, being a member of the FEI Judicial Review Committee.