Mark Todd (equestrian)

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File:Mark Todd Major Milestone Dairy Farm Burghley 2010.jpg
Todd and Major Milestone at the Dairy Farm during the cross-country phase of Burghley Horse Trials 2010
File:Mark todd nzb land vision quarry badminton 2011.jpg
Todd and NZB Land Vision during the cross-country phase of the 2011 Badminton Horse Trials

Sir Mark James Todd Template:Post-nominals (born 1 March 1956) is a New Zealand horseman noted for his accomplishments in the discipline of eventing. He was voted Rider of the 20th century by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports.[1]

He won gold medals at the Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988) Olympics, the Badminton Horse Trials on four occasions,[2] and the Burghley Horse Trials five times.[3] As a member of New Zealand's Eventing team, he won gold medals at the World Championships in 1990 and 1998 (Rome), plus 20 or more other international events, and numerous other international individual and team titles.

In 1988, he was announced as the New Zealand Sportsperson of the year and winner of the Supreme Halberg Award.[4] In the same year, he was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.[5]

On 25 April 2011, Todd completed a fourth Badminton victory riding NZB Land Vision, becoming the oldest winner of the event.[2]

By winning his fifth Olympic medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Todd equalled the Olympic record established by Hungarian fencer Aladár Gerevich for the longest gap between first and last Olympic medals — 28 years[6] — and shares the record for second-most Olympic medals won by a New Zealander with canoeists Ian Ferguson and Paul MacDonald.[7] The 2016 Games were Todd's seventh, having previously competed in 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2008 and 2012. Todd is the first New Zealander to have competed at seven Olympic Games.

In February 2022, a video emerged of Todd repeatedly hitting a horse with a branch for refusing to enter a water obstacle at a training clinic.[8]

Early life

Born in Cambridge, New Zealand,[9] Todd developed a deep and abiding passion for horses.[10] He rode at pony club as a youngster and competed at local shows.[1]

Todd considered becoming a jockey but grew to Template:Cvt so he moved into show jumping instead. In reference to his riding skills, fellow New Zealand team member, Andrew Nicholson, is quoted as saying "Mark can ride anything – he could go cross-country on a dairy cow!”[11]

On leaving school Todd pursued a career as a farmer, gaining a Diploma of Agriculture at the Waikato Technical Institute, and working on farms while fitting in riding, competing and selling horses.[10]

Equestrian career

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". In 1978, Todd was part of New Zealand's first three-day eventing team to contest a world championship, at Lexington, Kentucky], United States. He was 10th after the dressage and second in the steeplechase, but then his horse, Tophunter, broke down during the cross-country stage.[10] Thereafter, Todd moved to England, where he mucked out stables and obtained use of horses for event rides. At his first attempt, in 1980, he won the Badminton Horse Trials riding Southern Comfort.[2] Todd was a virtual unknown when he arrived, with fellow New Zealander Andrew Nicholson as his groom.[10]

Todd is recognized as a pioneer of three-day eventing in New Zealand.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". His success was followed by fellow New Zealand Olympic medallists and world champions Tinks Pottinger, Blyth Tait, Vaughn Jefferis, Vicky Latta, Sally Clark and Nicholson. Jefferis once said: "We all owe a huge debt to Mark Todd. He was the first, and he paved the way for us".[12]

Career

Todd became a popular sportsman in his home country and some of the horses he rode also became well known. Most notable was Charisma, the Template:Hands Thoroughbred (with 1/16 Percheron) Todd rode when winning successive Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1988.[13] Charisma was retired to a Waikato farm after the Seoul Olympics but appeared with Todd for later public appearances including flag bearing at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland New Zealand. Charisma died aged 30 from a broken shoulder.[14]

In 1984 Todd borrowed a yard at Kington St Michael, Wiltshire, from his friend Charles Cottenham, so that he could base himself in England.[15]

In the 1985 New Year Honours, Todd was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire,[16] and he was elevated to Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours.[17]

Todd also competed at the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics, where he won an individual bronze medal. His win was somewhat clouded by allegations in the Sunday Mirror that Todd had used cocaine with a homosexual partner prior to final team selection.[18] The controversy was a matter of national debate,[19][20] and almost cost Todd his team selection.[21]

Retirement

Todd retired from international competition following the Olympics and returned to live in New Zealand. Todd and his family moved to Rivermonte Farm near his home town of Cambridge[22] in Waikato to breed horses and concentrate on several business ventures, including the manufacture/retail of harness and other tack. His Thoroughbreds enjoyed racing success, including wins in the Wellington Cup[23] and New Zealand Oaks.[24][25] He remained closely involved with the administration of the eventing, acting as coach for the NZ Olympic Eventing team at Athens in 2004. He continued to compete in eventing at a local level and to support the sport in general.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Comeback

On 25 January 2008, Horse & Hound announced online that Todd would make a return to eventing eight years after he retired in Sydney. Script error: No such module "Unsubst".He purchased a 10-year-old grey called Gandalf to campaign for selection to ride at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the New Zealand team finished fifth, and Todd placed 17th individually.[26]

In February 2009, Todd announced that he was making a full return to elite level eventing, basing himself in England with a team of up to eight horses including Gandalf.[26]

Competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Todd became the second oldest New Zealand Olympian in history.[27]

In the 2013 New Year Honours, Todd was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to equestrian sport.[28][29] His investiture at Buckingham Palace in May 2013 took place only days after the death of his father, Norm.[30]

Todd was selected to represent New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Once again he became the second oldest New Zealand Olympian in history, as the fellow equestrian Julie Brougham made her Olympic debut at the age of 62.[31] At the Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Todd finished 4th in the team competition and 7th individually. Todd was the last team member to compete in the jumping phase, however, he dropped four rails. As a result, New Zealand team missed out on a possible gold medal. Todd later described this outcome as one of the biggest lows of his career.[32]

In 2019, Todd was an inaugural inductee into the Equestrian Sports New Zealand Hall of Fame.[33]

Viral video

In February 2022, a two-year old video emerged of Todd hitting a horse with a tree branch at a training clinic. The horse had refused to enter a water obstacle, and Todd hit it ten times. Todd issued an apology after the video was published.[8][34] The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced it was carrying out an investigation. In the interim, Todd was issued with a temporary suspension of his licence.[35] Todd stepped down as a patron of the charity World Horse Welfare.[35] Todd's training licence was returned to him on 14 April 2022 after an independent disciplinary panel issued him with a four month suspension with two months deferred, which meant that he had already served the eight-week suspension.[36]

Partial CCI 5* Results

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Results
Event Kentucky Badminton Luhmühlen Burghley Pau Adelaide
1980 Script error: No such module "sort". (Southern Comfort III)
1987 Script error: No such module "sort". (Wilton Fair)
1990 Script error: No such module "sort". (Face The Music)
1991 Script error: No such module "sort". (Welton Greylag)
1994 Script error: No such module "sort". (Horton Point)
1996 Script error: No such module "sort". (Bertie Blunt)
1997 Script error: No such module "sort". (Broadcast News)
1999 Script error: No such module "sort". (Diamond Hall Red)
2010 18th (Grass Valley) 11th (Major Milestone)
2011 WD (Grass Valley) Script error: No such module "sort". (NZB Landvision)

35th (Major Milestone)

14th (Major Milestone)
2012 WD (Major Milestone) 12th (Major Milestone) EL (Major Milestone)
2013 48th (Major Milestone)WD (Ravenstar) 6th (Oloa)

WD (Ravenstar)

2014 WD (Oloa) 14th (Leonidas II)EL (NZB Campino) 21st (Oloa)
2015 4th (Leonidas II)

41st (Oloa)

5th (NZB Campino) 6th (Leonidas II) 10th (NZB Campino)
2016 7th (NZB Campino) 4th (Leonidas II) 9th (NZB Campino)
2017 4th (NZB Campino)6th (Leonidas II) EL (Leonidas II) 25th (Kiltubrid Rhapsody)RET (NZB Campino)
2018 6th (Kiltubrid Rhapsody)14th (Kiltubrid Rhapsody) 18th (NZB Campino)

EL (Kiltubrid Rhapsody)

2019 RET (NZB Campino)
EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew

Partial International Championship results

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Results
Year Event Horse Placing Notes
1984 Olympic Games Charisma 6th Team
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1986 World Eventing Championships Charisma 4th Team
10th Individual
1988 Olympic Games Charisma Script error: No such module "sort". Team
Script error: No such module "sort". Individual
1990 World Equestrian Games Bahlua Script error: No such module "sort". Team
5th Individual
1992 Olympic Games Welton Greylag Script error: No such module "sort". Team
RET Individual
1994 World Equestrian Games Just An Ace 6th Team
47th Individual
1998 World Equestrian Games Broadcast News Script error: No such module "sort". Team
Script error: No such module "sort". Individual
2000 Olympic Games Eyespy II 8th Team
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2008 Olympic Games Gandalf 5th Team
17th Individual
2009 World Cup Final Gandalf EL
2010 World Equestrian Games Grass Valley Script error: No such module "sort". Team
11th Individual
2012 Olympic Games NZB Campino Script error: No such module "sort". Team
12th Individual
2014 World Equestrian Games Leonidas II 14th Team
EL Individual
2016 Olympic Games Leonidas II 4th Team
7th Individual
2018 World Equestrian Games McClaren 7th Team
57th Individual
EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew

Personal life

Todd married Carolyn Berry in 1986 and had two children, Lauren and James.[10] They separated in 2009.[37] The couple remarried in 2014, with only their children present as witnesses.[38]

Todd's autobiography, So Far, So Good,[10] was published in 1998. He has had several other books published including Charisma (1989), One Day Eventing, Mark Todd’s Cross-Country Handbook (1995) and Novice Eventing with Mark Todd (1996). He has also produced a series of training videos.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

References

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  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ a b c d e f (Todd, 1998 p. 1)
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Todd 1998 p. 56
  15. ↑ Mark Todd, Second Chance: The Autobiography (2012), pp. 30–31
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "London Gazette util".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Romanos (2008)
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ "New Year Honours 2013" (29 January 2013) 8 The New Zealand Gazette 293.
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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Further reading

  • Todd, M., So Far, So Good: The Autobiography, 1998, Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers Limited, Auckland, New Zealand.
  • Romanos, J., Our Olympic Century. 2008, Trio Books Limited, Wellington New Zealand.

External links

Template:Sister project

Awards
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check New Zealand's Sportsman of the Year
1988 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Halberg Awards – Supreme Award
1988 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by

Template:Authority control Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:1984 New Zealand Olympic team Template:1988 New Zealand Olympic team Template:1992 New Zealand Olympic team Template:2000 New Zealand Olympic team Template:2008 New Zealand Olympic team Template:2012 New Zealand Olympic team Template:2016 New Zealand Olympic team Template:Summer Olympics multiple gold medallists from New Zealand

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