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Clement 'Frenchy' Waras is chuffed with his new car. Horse Sport Ireland
Horse Outside

Germans give Cian O'Connor a Golf GTI but he gifts it to "Frenchy"

The Irishman, who won at bronze medal at London 2012, was ultra generous to his long-time groom.

IT TRULY WAS a case of ‘fudge your Golf GTI, I’ve got a horse outside’ for Irish Olympian Cian O’Connor today in Germany.

The London 2012 Bronze Medallist won the car when taking first prize at the Grand Prix in Sommerstorf but immediately donated it to his long-time groom, “Frenchy”.

Riding Beverley Widdowson’s 12 year old gelding Unique clear over two rounds, 33 year-old O’Connor, who is based in Meath, was one of 10 combinations through to the jump-off, but claimed the white performance car as his prize when romping home almost two seconds faster than German challenger Carsten-Otto Nagel and Holiday by Solitour.

Afterwards O’Connor said, “Unique has been a consistent performer since joining my stables at the beginning of the year, and has delivered great performances in the United Arab Emirates, Austria and more recently in Norten Hardenburg in Germany. We came here to win the Grand Prix and that’s just what we did.”

Asked about his decision to hand over the Golf GTI to his groom, O’Connor said, “Frenchy (real name Clement Waras) has been with me through thick and thin over the last seven years, including the London Olympics, and the decision was quite simple – my wife and I both have cars and he does not. So Frenchy gets the Golf.”

There was further success for Ireland as two horses that were breed on these shores, Mr Cruise Control and High Kingdom, were ridden to clear rounds and victory at Europe’s biggest three-day show-jumping event in Luhmuhlen, Germany.

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