Conor Swail suffers freak injury in Toronto

Ireland’s Conor Swail is expecting to be out of action for a couple of months after injuring his Achilles tendon in a freak incident at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, Canada last week.

Conor was competing in the $50,000 Weston Canadian Open speed class on Ariana when he collected the injury at fence 2.

Conor explained: “Just as my mare was taking off for the 2nd fence, I put a bit of leg on and my spur got caught in a bit of the equipment. When she stretched out, my (left) ankle stayed down and the stretch ripped my calf and Achilles. As soon as I landed, it was totally numb… just pins and needles and I couldn’t feel it.”

Conor continued his round, negotiating some fences without a stirrup (pictured top), to finish 11th, but admitted, “there was a lot of pain afterwards.”

A brief visit to a local doctor confirmed Conor had damaged his Achilles, but he was planning to fly home to Ireland for a fuller diagnosis by a doctor specialising in sports injuries.

Having already won 3 classes with Game Ready, Ariana and Arista, Conor still won the show’s leading international rider award, but he had to hop down the steps from the seating area to the arena floor to receive it.

While he won’t be missing much in the way of competition during his time off, he is disappointed he won’t be able to play golf, as he had planned to before heading to Florida for the Winter Equestrian Festival.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now