Mark Todd led his team out of Greenwich Park with New Zealand’s first medals proudly on display.
It’s 24 years since Todd last won gold and he admits he was thirsty for another.
“You never know coming into a competition like this with such strong competition where you’re going to end up we could have easily missed out,” says Todd.
“We had hoped we could do a little better but we have to be absolutely thrilled with winning a medal.”
Todd began the final day of the three-day event in third place but slipped to 12th after the show jumping.
“It is disappointing but I was on probably the most inexperienced horse in the field – he gave everything in the first two days, he was just a very tired horse today.
“He’s normally a very good jumper but it just wasn’t to be,” he says.
World number two, Andrew Nicholson, came closest to winning an individual medal for New Zealand.
In the dressage phase, officials delayed Ncholson’s run by 10 minutes because of bad weather, it ruined his warm up and may have cost him a second medal.
The team was beaten by Germany and Great Britain.
“I said to Mark when you look at the bunch in front of us we’ve done pretty well to get a bronze,” says Nicholson.
While expectations were high for veteran eventers Todd and Nicholson, first time Olympian Jock Paget, shone in all three disciplines riding Clifton Promise.
He finished 10th, two places ahead of Todd.
“I did but I don’t think you can take too much from that he was on a very green horse – to do what he did was just amazing, the guy’s a freak,” says Paget.
Paget was just 8 months old when Todd won gold in 1984, he’s now tipped to be the “next Todd”.
After seven Olympic games, Nicholson says he wants to make it eight but Todd is less decided.
“I’ll have to have a good long think about it,” he says.
In 2016, Todd will be 60 years old but still, he’s not ruling out competing in the next Olympics.
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