Word: connors
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...Sports like equestrian need gripping scripts to sustain them during the Games. "It would have been the greatest story in equestrian history if Teddy would have made it to the Olympics," says O'Connor. She's probably not far off. But the world never got to meet Teddy - and now may not get to meet O'Connor either. "The whole thing is sad," she says. "Very...
...Connor doesn't want pity to put her on the team. But she insists that even though the other U.S. horses are more impressive "on paper," she and Mandiba could have won in Hong Kong, where the equestrian events will be held. "I totally respect the decision," says O'Connor, from England, where she's training with the U.S. team (she and Mandiba are Olympic alternates). "Am I happy about it? Heck...
...Connor's dream to ride Teddy into the Olympics was derailed on May 28, during a routine stroll to the practice area on her farm in The Plains, Va. O'Connor was riding Mandiba, while her manager, Max Corcoran, was walking alongside Teddy. Something from behind a stone wall shook the animals. "Those horses were not startled," says Corcoran. "They were petrified." Teddy took off toward the barn. Corcoran grabbed his reins, but Teddy dragged her 10 feet along the ground before she had to let go. "I'm a big, strong girl who played college hockey," says Corcoran...
...When they reached the barn, O'Connor saw that Teddy's ankle was mangled. "Something sharp went through his ankle, Achilles tendon, and arteries," O'Connor says. She knew it was catastrophic - within 15 minutes four vets arrived on the scene, but the diagnosis was grim. "The decision to euthanize was ridiculously obvious," she says. The tears poured; Corcorcan left the barn. "Yeah, you say goodbye," O'Connor says. "I lost my best friend...
...Connor went into shock. "It took 10 days, 100,000 emails and chat room postings, 30 bouquets of flowers, 300 or 400 pieces of snail mail, and who knows how many text messages before I could move on," says O'Connor. The equestrian world mourned. "RIP to the best pony ever," read one post on the website for The Chronicle of the Horse, an equestrian magazine. "Rest, chum. Thank you for changing the way others look at little horses with big hearts, just like you," read another...