Madam, - I am disturbed by the current witch-hunt surrounding Cian O'Connor, James Sheeran and best practice in the training and veterinary care of our top showjumping horses.
To reach the level of competition attained by our Olympic riders requires ambition, hard work, talent, bravery and above all a love of horses. Horses are powerful, sensitive and mostly, intelligent animals. They will not jump fences if they are consistently subjected to cruelty.
Riding a course of fences at this level requires a unique partnership of trust and understanding between horse and rider. This was supremely evident in the performance of Cian O'Connor and his horse, Waterford Crystal.
James Sheeran is a skilled and compassionate vet whose professional competence and integrity is being publicly questioned, often by people who have very little knowledge or experience of competition horses.
Cian O'Connor's groom, Jane Doyle, is a formidable protector of her horses' welfare. It is unthinkable that we so quickly condemn these talented professionals whose very future is at stake.
There is, of course, a dark side to every sport but I protest strongly at the treatment of these committed people who are being subjected to collective outrage at the possibility of losing a gold medal. They deserve our understanding and support at a time when they are under such enormous pressure. - Yours etc.,
JILL CASEY, Burlington Road, Dublin 4.