This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2024) |
Oliver David Townend MBE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discipline | Eventing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England | 15 November 1982|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Oliver David Townend (born 15 November 1982) is a British horseback rider. He has represented Great Britain at the European Eventing Championships, winning the team gold medals in 2007, 2009, and 2017. [1] He has also won competing in events such as the Badminton Horse Trials, Burghley Horse Trials, and the Kentucky Three-Day Event. [2]
Townend represented Great Britain at the World Equestrian Games in 2006 and 2014. [3] [4] He was the Event Rider Masters series champion in 2016 [3] and has been ranked world number one in eventing twice, in 2009 and 2018. [5] He has also been ranked number one British eventing rider on seven occasions since 2009. [6]
Townend grew up in Scapegoat Hill, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. [7] He won the junior newcomers showjumping at the Horse of the Year Show with Cool Mule at age 11, [8] rode in the pony European Eventing Championships at age 13, [1] and left school at 16 to pursue a career in riding and selling horses. His father was an event rider and his mother was a side-saddle rider. [9] [9]
In 2010, Townend suffered a rotational fall at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day in Lexington, Kentucky, and was crushed by his horse. He broke his collarbone, shoulder bones, sternum, and four ribs, but credited his airbag vest with minimizing his injuries. [10]
Townend currently lives in Ellesmere, Shropshire. [11]
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism. [12] [13]
Townend has received several warnings for excessive whip use during competitions and for riding fatigued horses. [14] He received warnings for "abuse of the horse" in 2014, and for "abuse of the horse and wrong use of the whip" at Floors Castle in 2017. [15] In 2018, he received an official warning for “abuse of horse/excessive use of the whip” at the Badminton Horse Trials. [16] He subsequently lost two sponsors and apologized. [17] He received further warnings for whip use at the Blair Castle International Horse Trials in 2018 and at an indoor horse trial competition in Stockholm in 2022, [18] [19] and was disciplined by the FEI for dangerous riding at Badminton in 2023. [20]
Results | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Event | Horse | Placing | Notes | ||||||
2007 | European Championships | Flint Curtis | Team | |||||||
2009 | European Championships | Flint Curtis | Team | |||||||
2017 | European Championships | Willingapark Cooley | Team | |||||||
2019 | European Championships | Cooley Master Class | Team | |||||||
2020 | World Young Horse Championships | Cooley Rosalent | CCI** | |||||||
2021 | Olympic Games | Ballaghmor Class | Team | |||||||
EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew |
The Badminton Horse Trials is a five-day event, one of only seven annual Concours Complet International (CCI) Five Star events as classified by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI). It takes place in May each year in the park of Badminton House, the seat of the Duke of Beaufort in South Gloucestershire, England.
The Defender Burghley Horse Trials is an annual three-day event held at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, currently in early September. Defender Burghley Horse Trials is classified by the FEI as one of the seven leading three-day events in the world. It has competition at CCI5*-L level. The prize for first place is currently £110,000. Prize money is given down to 20th place.
Mary Elizabeth King is a British equestrian who competes in eventing. She has represented Great Britain at six Olympics from 1992 to 2012, winning team silver in 2004 and 2012, and team bronze in 2008. At the World Equestrian Games, she won team gold in 1994 and 2010, and team silver in 2006. She has also won four team golds and one team bronze medal at the European Eventing Championships.
The Kentucky Three-Day Event, currently the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event due to sponsorship, is an eventing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Land Rover Kentucky is a CCI5*-L eventing competition. Five stars is the highest level of competition in the sport, the same level of competition as Eventing at the Olympics and the World Equestrian Games. The event is sponsored by Land Rover. Prize money of $400,000 is distributed among the top placings with $110,000 as well as a Rolex watch awarded to the first place horse and rider. The winning rider also gets a 12-month lease of a Land Rover
Winsome Andante was an English imported crossbred eventer who competed successfully to the highest levels of the sport of eventing with rider Kimberly Severson. Winsome Andante won the Rolex CCI**** a record three times. He also competed at the Burghley Horse Trials, as well as in the Olympics and the World Equestrian Games.
William Speed Lane Fox-Pitt is an English equestrian who competes in eventing. His career highlights include winning three Olympic medals in the team event, with silver in 2004 and 2012, and bronze in 2008. At the World Equestrian Games, he won team gold and individual silver in 2010, and team silver and individual bronze in 2014. He also won World team medals in 2002 and 2006. At the European Championships, he has won six team gold medals, as well as Individual silver in 1997 and 2005, and Individual bronze in 2013. He is the recordman CCI*****'s winner with 14 grand slam titles. In 2011, he became the first rider to win five different five-star events, having won the Burghley Horse Trials a record six times, Rolex Kentucky three times, Stars of Pau twice, the Badminton Horse Trials twice, and the Luhmühlen Horse Trials once (2008). A serious fall in 2015 left him in a coma for two weeks, but he came back to make the British eventing team and attend the 2016 Summer Olympics. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours.
The Luhmühlen Horse Trials are an annual equestrian eventing competition held in Luhmühlen, Salzhausen, Germany. Riders compete at the highest level: the CCI*****. There are only Seven events of this kind in the world, the others being the Badminton Horse Trials, the Burghley Horse Trials, the Kentucky Three-Day Event, the Australian International Three Day Event, the Stars of Pau and the maryland horse trails
The Concours Complet International (CCI) is the competition rating for the equestrian sport of eventing, given by the international governing body for the sport, the FEI. The rating system was recently changed, effective 1 January 2019.
Phillip Peter Dutton, OAM is an Australian-born Olympic-level equestrian rider competing in eventing for the United States of America. He is a dual Olympic gold medalist who formerly competed for his country of birth but now competes for the USA.
The Grand Slam of Eventing, sponsored by Rolex, consists of three of the top CCI5*-L equestrian eventing competitions in the world. Pippa Funnell in 2003 and Michael Jung in 2016, are the only riders to have achieved the Grand Slam since its inception in 1999. To win the Grand Slam, a rider must consecutively win all three events, although they are permitted to ride different horses in each competition. This is especially important, since the Badminton Horse Trials is only one week after Kentucky, and the horse would not have sufficient time to recover between the two competitions, especially since they would have to be flown overseas in that time.
Alex Hua Tian is an equestrian sportsman who competes in eventing for China.
Sam Griffiths is an Australian Eventing rider from Pearcedale in Victoria. 2017 saw him as the Ambassador to the Mitsubishi Motors Adelaide International Horse Trials. 4th individually at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and part of the Bronze medal winning team. He won the 2014 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials riding Paulank Brockagh who he later went on to ride in the FEI World Equestrian Games. Winner of the 2014 Event Rider of the Year L'Année Hippique Awards. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed in the Individual and Team eventing, but fell during the cross-country event and did not finish. He was originally selected as the second reserve rider, but entered the team when two other Australian horses were unable to compete. Now based in the UK competing himself and training other riders.
Boyd Martin is an Australian-born American equestrian competing in the discipline of eventing. He has participated in four consecutive Summer Olympic Games and is a two-time Pan American Games team gold medalist and individual gold medalist. He is a two-time CCI5*-L winner.
Jonelle Price is a New Zealand equestrian, competing in eventing. She is married to Tim Price, also a New Zealand eventing rider. They are both competing at top international level.
Jonathan "Jock" Paget is a New Zealand equestrian who won a bronze medal in Team eventing at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2013 he became only the second rider to win the Badminton Horse Trials on debut after fellow New Zealander Mark Todd.
Michael Jung is a German equestrian who competes in eventing and show jumping. A four-time Olympic gold medallist, he won individual and team gold at the 2012 London Olympics, followed by individual gold and team silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the individual gold for the third time at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He was inducted into the Eventing Rider Association Hall of Fame in 2013, and in 2016 he became only the second rider in history to win the Grand Slam of Eventing.
Rosalind Canter is a British equestrian who competes in eventing. She is the 2018 World Champion. On Monday, 8 May 2023 she won the Badminton Horse Trials riding Lordships Graffalo. She won a gold medal in Team eventing at 2024 Paris Olympics.
Laura Collett is a British equestrian who competes in eventing.
Isabelle "Bubby" Upton is a British equestrian.
Emily King is a British Equestrian who competes in Eventing. She is the daughter of Mary King.