Oliver Townend

Last updated

Oliver David Townend
MBE
Oliver Townend - Cooley Master Class - 1 - Gelande EM Vielseitigkeit 2019.JPG
Oliver Townend and Cooley Master Class, 2019 European Eventing Championship
Personal information
NationalityFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Discipline Eventing
Born (1982-11-15) 15 November 1982 (age 42)
Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2020 Tokyo Team eventing
European Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Pratoni del Vivaro Team Eventing
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2009 Fontainebleau Team Eventing
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Strzegom Team Eventing
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Luhmühlen Team eventing

Oliver David Townend (born 15 November 1982) is a British horse 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]

Contents

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]

Biography

Townend on Flint Curtis at the 2008 World Cup leg of Chatsworth 310 Oliver Townend on Flint Curtis.jpg
Townend on Flint Curtis at the 2008 World Cup leg of Chatsworth

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]

Whip use

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]


Winning International Championships

Results
YearEventHorsePlacingNotes
2007European ChampionshipsFlint CurtisGold medal icon.svgTeam
2009European ChampionshipsFlint CurtisGold medal icon.svgTeam
2017European ChampionshipsWillingapark CooleyGold medal icon.svgTeam
2019European ChampionshipsCooley Master ClassSilver medal icon.svgTeam
2020World Young Horse ChampionshipsCooley RosalentSilver medal icon.svgCCI**
2021 Olympic Games Ballaghmor ClassGold medal icon.svgTeam
EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew

Notable horses

References

  1. 1 2 "Oliver Townend". Horse & Hound.
  2. ↑ "Athlete Performance". FEI Database.
  3. 1 2 "OLIVER TOWNEND". Event Rider Masters.
  4. ↑ "WEG cross-country: what happened where?". Horse and Country.
  5. ↑ "OLIVER TOWNEND IS NEW NUMBER ONE IN THE FEI WORLD EVENTING RANKINGS". Team GBR Equestrian.
  6. ↑ "Townend enjoying 'best days' and door still open for Team GB". Yorkshire Post.
  7. ↑ Chadband, Ian (18 April 2010). "From 'Hillbilly' to the peaks of perfection" (PDF). The Sunday Telegraph .
  8. ↑ "Oliver Townend: My kingdom for a horse". Financial Times. 5 September 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Oliver Townend". Badminton Horse Trials.
  10. ↑ Thomas, Katie (23 August 2010). "Equestrians' Latest Safety Option Is the Air Bag". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  11. ↑ "Townend's golden moment". Shropshire Star. 3 August 2021. p. 48.Report of his win at the Tokyo Olympics.
  12. ↑ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N25.
  13. ↑ "New Year Honours 2022: Jason Kenny receives a knighthood and Laura Kenny made a dame". BBC Sport. 31 December 2021.
  14. ↑ Berendt, Tilly (11 May 2023). "Oliver Townend Given Recorded Warning by FEI Following Badminton Elimination" . Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  15. ↑ "Oliver Townend Apologizes for Badminton Whip Controversy". Horse Sport. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  16. ↑ Cuckson, Pippa (7 May 2018). "'It didn't look good': Oliver Townend apologises again for whip misuse at Badminton Horse Trials". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Sponsors drop world number one Townend after Badminton whipping scandal". www.insidethegames.biz. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  18. ↑ "Oliver Townend given warning for whip use at Blair". Horse & Hound. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  19. ↑ Berendt, Tilly. "Oliver Townend Given Recorded Warning by FEI Following Badminton Elimination - Eventing Nation - Three-Day Eventing News, Results, Videos, and Commentary". eventingnation.com. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  20. ↑ Autry, Jenni. "Oliver Townend Responds to Public Outrage Over Whip Use at Badminton - Eventing Nation - Three-Day Eventing News, Results, Videos, and Commentary". eventingnation.com. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Past Horses – Oliver Townend" . Retrieved 20 November 2024.
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