Old European explorer hurt fellow on equestrian pursuit (5,4)
I believe the answer is:
marco polo
'old european explorer' is the definition.
(13th-century explorer)
'hurt fellow on equestrian pursuit' is the wordplay.
'hurt' becomes 'mar' (I've seen this before).
'fellow' becomes 'co' (eg a co-worker is a fellow worker).
'on' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'equestrian pursuit' becomes 'polo' (sport played on horseback).
'mar'+'co'+'polo'='MARCO POLO'
(Other definitions for marco polo that I've seen before include "Great Venetian explorer of China and Asia in 14th century" , "Venetian adventurer" , "Venetian travel writer, who may (or may not) have served Kublai Khan, d. 1324" , "traveller in East" , "Venetian merchant, who travelled to China" .)