“CON was a proper gentleman, he had out and out high standards. Anytime I would ever ring him, my opening line would be ‘could I speak to Ireland’s greatest ever show jumper’, and Con would say ‘you’re speaking to him’.

He was an exceptional horse man; he could win on a normal horse, a bad horse, and then he would be able to ride a fabulous horse too. I had fantastic admiration for him. We had great trips together and great fun, he was a great character and always had a big smile on his face.