|
}} Karen Lende O'Connor (born February 17, 1958) is an American equestrian who competes in three day eventing. Although she did not come from a family of equestrians, her interest in horses started at an early age, and she received her first horse for her 11th birthday. O'Connor began competing internationally in the late 1970s, and in 1986 began riding for the US national eventing team. Since then, she had ridden in five Olympic Games, three World Equestrian Games and two Pan-American Games, winning multiple medals, including a team silver at the 1996 Olympic Games and a team bronze at the 2000 Olympic Games. She has also posted numerous wins and top-10 finishes at other international events. As of 2013, O'Connor is not competing, having suffered fractures to two thoracic vertebrae during a fall at a competition in October 2012. In 1993, O'Connor married fellow equestrian David O'Connor, also a three day event rider for the US team. When not competing, she plays active roles in the administration side of the United States Equestrian Federation and the United States Eventing Association (USEA). O'Connor and her horses have been honored by multiple organizations for their competition record, and as of 2013, six horses ridden by O'Connor held positions in the list of the top 50 USEA high scoring horses. ==Early life and marriage== O'Connor was born in Bolton, Massachusetts,〔 to parents Phillip and Joanne Lende. She was the second child of three, and the only girl; her two brothers are Steven and Chip.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Karen O'Connor: Family )〕 She did not come from a family of equestrians, but became interested in the sport after seeing a documentary on Great Britain's Princess Anne's involvement in the sport. For O'Connor's 11th birthday, she received a horse named Midnight.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Athletes: Karen O'Connor: Bio )〕 She was a member of the United States Pony Clubs, in the Groton Pony Club in the Central New England Region. She has been inducted into the United States Pony Club Hall of Fame.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Pony Club Hall of Fame )〕 She later owned a Connemara pony named Erin's Shamrock, who in 1978 was awarded the Camlin Trophy by the American Connemara Pony Society "in recognition of a career of outstanding competitive performance".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Hall of Fame – Camlin Trophy Winners )〕 O'Connor married fellow equestrian David O'Connor, also an international three day event rider, on June 26, 1993.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Karen O'Connor )〕 The pair became the first married couple to compete on the same US Olympic equestrian team when they rode with their team to a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. They rode to a second shared medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, again marking a historical Olympic moment as the first husband and wife duo to do so. They operate equestrian training facilities in The Plains, Virginia and Ocala, Florida.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Karen O'Connor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|