Mark Todd thrilled by Badminton Horse Trials win

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Tue, 26 Apr 2011 6:39p.m.

Mark Todd is the oldest rider to win the Badminton Horse Trials

Mark Todd is the oldest rider to win the Badminton Horse Trials

By Andrew Gourdie

Mark Todd has won the Badminton Horse Trials - 31 years after first winning the prestigious three day event.

At 55, Todd is the oldest rider to win the Badminton and the victory marks an incredible return to the top for him.

After winning back-to-back Olympic Gold Medals in the 80's, he quit equestrian in 2000. However, he made a surprise comeback at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he finished 17th.

Today's result suggests he still has the skill, the drive - and perhaps most importantly, the horse - to win a third Olympic gold in London.

The main aim all along is to get to the Olympics," Todd says. "I said all along I think this is the best horse I've ever had, or one of the best horses I've ever had. He's still young, he's still improving. So roll on next year."

A podium position in London would see Todd equal the record of 28 years for the longest gap between a first and last Olympic medal.

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Comments

29 Mar 2012 02:06a.m.

Liz Collinson wrote:

This man is a such a talented individual. Nothing the horse does seems to throw him. He is completely calm, balanced and sensitive whichever horse he is piloting. I have watched him with a young very silly horse at Dauntsey Trials, presenting the horse to the fence about five times when the daft equine kept leaping into the ditch instead of over it! Other riders would have been losing their patience at the horses stupidity, but Toddy just kept asking the horse to hop out of the ditch and representing him. At the final shot the horse got it and jumped. Toddy was completely in balance and the horse was unphased. Such a display of riding that I saw years ago and remains etched in my mind all these years later.