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Oliver David Townend MBE (born 15 November 1982) is a British eventing rider who competes at the international three-day eventing level. He has represented Great Britain in the European Eventing Championships, winning team gold medals in 2007, 2009, and 2017. [1] Townend has also won at events such as the Badminton Horse Trials, Burghley Horse Trials, and the Kentucky Three-Day Event. [2]
| Simon Ohio Willstam MBE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oliver Townend and Cooley Master Class, 2019 European Eventing Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Eventing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 November 1982 Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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In addition to his championship titles, he 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 held the title of world number one in eventing twice: first in 2009 and again in 2018. [5] Since 2009, he has also been ranked as the British number one eventing rider on seven occasions.[6]
Biography
edit
Townend grew up in Scapegoat Hill, a small town on the moors near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire.[7] He won the junior newcomers showjumping at the Horse of the Year Show with Cool Mule aged 11,[8] rode in the pony European Eventing Championships aged 13[9] and left school at 16 to pursue riding and selling horses professionally. Townend attributes his love of horses to his parents.[10] His father was also an event rider and his mother showed side-saddle.[10]
In 2010, Townend suffered a rotational fall while participating in the Rolex Kentucky Three Day in Lexington, Kentucky, and was crushed by his horse. He broke his collarbone, shoulder bones, and sternum, along with four ribs, but credited the airbag vest with allowing him to leave the hospital after only a single day. He stated that without the vest, he "would be in a box or in America for a month." [11]
Townend currently lives at Ellesmere, Shropshire.[12]
Townend was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism.[13][14]
Whip use
editTownend has received several cautions or warnings during his career for excessive use of the whip during competitions and has been pulled up for riding excessively tired horses.[15] He received a verbal warning in 2014 for "abuse of the horse" and a verbal warning for "abuse of the horse/inappropriate use of the whip" at Floors Castle in 2017.[16] In 2018, Townend received an official warning for “abuse of horse/excessive use of the whip” while riding at the Badminton Horse Trials in an event that was widely televised.[17] After the incident, he lost two sponsors,[18] and Townend later apologized. Later that year, he was once again warned for excessive use of the whip at the Blair Castle International Horse Trials.[19] In 2022, he received an oral warning for abuse of horse/excessive use of the whip at an indoor eventing competition in Stockholm.[20]
In 2023, the FEI disciplined Townend for dangerous riding at Badminton.[21]
International championship results
edit| Results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Event | Horse | Placing | Notes | ||||||
| 2005 | European Championships | Topping | 43rd | Individual | ||||||
| 2006 | World Equestrian Games | Flint Curtis | 11th | Individual | ||||||
| 2007 | World Young Horse Championships | Master Boy | 21st | CCI** | ||||||
| 2007 | European Championships | Flint Curtis | 
|
Team | ||||||
| 12th | Individual | |||||||||
| 2009 | Eventing World Cup Final | Flint Curtis | EL | |||||||
| 2009 | European Championships | Flint Curtis |
|
Team | ||||||
| EL | Individual | |||||||||
| 2014 | World Young Horse Championships | Willingapark Cooley | 9th | CCI** | ||||||
| 2014 | World Equestrian Games | Black Tie | RET | Individual | ||||||
| 2015 | World Young Horse Championships | SRS Chillout | 18th | CCI* | ||||||
| Ridire Dorcha | WD | CCI** | ||||||||
| 2015 | European Championships | Fenyas Elegance | 17th | Individual | ||||||
| 2017 | European Championships | Willingapark Cooley |
|
Team | ||||||
| WD | Individual | |||||||||
| 2019 | European Championships | Cooley Master Class | 
|
Team | ||||||
| 9th | Individual | |||||||||
| 2019 | World Young Horse Championships | Miss Cooley | 23rd | CCI*** | ||||||
| 2020 | World Young Horse Championships | Cooley Rosalent |
|
CCI** | ||||||
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Ballaghmor Class |
|
Team | ||||||
| 5th | Individual | |||||||||
| World Young Horse Championships | Cooley Rosalent | 7th | CCI*** | |||||||
| 2022 | World Championships | Ballaghmor Class | 4th | Team | ||||||
| 16th | Individual | |||||||||
| EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew | ||||||||||
CCI 5* results
edit| Results | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Kentucky | Badminton | Luhmühlen | Burghley | Pau | Adelaide | Maryland | Bicton | ||||
| 2005 | 12th (Topping) | |||||||||||
| 2006 |  (Flint Curtis)
31st (Topping) |
EL (Topping) | ||||||||||
| 2007 | EL (Tom Cruise II)
WD (Flint Curtis) |
RET (Saxon Cross)
RET (Waterbeck Basil) |
||||||||||
| 2008 | 12th (Coup de Coeur) | RET (Flint Curtis) | RET (Clover Curtis)
EL (Divine Inspiration) |
|||||||||
| 2009 | 8th (Carousel Quest) | (Flint Curtis)
|
15th (Sportsfield Sandyman)
17th (Golden Hue) WD (Jackson D'Allez) |
(Carousel Quest)
|
8th (Carousel Quest) | |||||||
| 2010 | EL (Ashdale Cruise Master)
WD (Master Boy) |
5th (Ashdale Cruise Master)
EL (Carousel Quest) |
4th (Carousel Quest) | 13th (Master Boy) | ||||||||
| 2011 | 6th (ODT Sonas Rovatio) | EL (Ashdale Cruise Master) | 7th (Master Boy) | RET (Imperial Master)
EL (Neo du Breuil) |
||||||||
| 2012 | RET (Pepper Anne) | 7th (ODT Sonas Rovatio)
8th (Armada) |
4th (Armada)
RET (ODT Sonas Rovatio) |
EL (ODT Sonas Rovatio) | ||||||||
| 2013 | 34th (Armada) | WD (Armada) | ||||||||||
| 2014 | (Armada)
|
4th (Black Tie) | 8th (Armada) | |||||||||
| 2015 | 11th (Armada) | 11th (Dromgurrihy Blue)
23rd (Armada) 32nd (Samuel Thomas II) |
||||||||||
| 2016 | 25th (Armada)
RET (Black Tie) |
RET (Dromgurrihy Blue)
WD (Black Tie) |
7th (Samuel Thomas II)
23rd (Dromgurrihy Blue) RET (MHS King Joules) |
|||||||||
| 2017 | 16th (ODT Ghareeb)
25th (Samuel Thomas II) |
18th (Black Tie) | (Ballaghmor Class)
12th (Samuel Thomas II) |
|||||||||
| 2018 | (Cooley Master Class)
7th (MHS King Joules) |
(Willingapark Cooley)
5th (Ballaghmor Class) |
(Ballaghmor Class)
12th (Willingapark Cooley) WD (MHS King Joules) |
EL (Cillnabradden Evo) | ||||||||
| 2019 | (Cooley Master Class)
|
(Ballaghmor Class)
6th (Cillnabradden Evo) |
(Ballaghmor Class)
|
|||||||||
| 2020 | 6th (MHS King Joules) | |||||||||||
| 2021 | (Ballaghmor Class)
|
6th (Ridire Dorcha)
WD (MHS King Joules) |
(Cooley Master Class)
|
7th (Tregilder)
EL (MHS King Joules) | ||||||||
| 2022 | (Swallow Springs)
5th (Ballaghmor Class) |
EL (Tregilder)
EL (Swallow Springs) |
(As Is)
| |||||||||
| 2023 | (Ballaghmor Class)
EL (Swallow Springs) |
7th (Swallow Springs)
9th (Tregilder) 27th (Cooley Rosalent) |
(Ballaghmor Class)
RET (Tregilder) RET (Swallow Springs) |
(Tregilder)
|
(Cooley Rosalent)
| |||||||
| 2024 | (Ballaghmor Class)
| |||||||||||
| EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew | ||||||||||||
Notable horses
editThis article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2024) |
- Flint Curtis
- 2006 Badminton Horse Trials third place
- 2007 & 2009 European Championships – team gold
- 2009 Badminton Horse Trials winner
- Carousel Quest
- 2009 Burghley Horse Trials winner
- Armarda
- 2014 Badminton Horse Trials runner up
- Willingapark Cooley
- 2017 European Championships – team gold
- 2018 Badminton Horse Trials runner up
- Cillnabraden Evo
- Badminton 5* dressage record holder (19.7)
- Ballaghmor Class
- 2017 Burghley Horse Trials winner
- 2018 Burghley Horse Trials runner up
- 2019 Badminton Horse Trials runner up
- 2019 Burghley Horse Trials runner up
- 2021 Kentucky Horse Trials winner
- 2020 Olympic Games – team gold, individual 5th
- 2023 Badminton Horse Trials runner up
- 2023 Burghley Horse Trials winner
- Cooley Master Class
- 2018 & 2019 Kentucky Horse Trials winner
- 2019 European Championships – team silver, individual 9th
- 2021 Maryland Horse Trials runner up
- Swallow Springs
- 2022 Badminton Horse Trials third place
- As Is
- 2022 Maryland Horse Trials third place
- Cooley Rosalent
- 2020 World Young Horse 6 Year Old runner up
- 2023 Maryland Horse Trials third place
- Tregilder
- 2023 Pau 5* runner up
References
edit- ^ "Oliver Townend". Horse & Hound.
- ^ "Athlete Performance". FEI Database.
- ^ a b "OLIVER TOWNEND". Event Rider Masters.
- ^ "WEG cross-country: what happened where?". Horse and Country.
- ^ "OLIVER TOWNEND IS NEW NUMBER ONE IN THE FEI WORLD EVENTING RANKINGS". Team GBR Equestrian.
- ^ "Townend enjoying 'best days' and door still open for Team GB". Yorkshire Post.
- ^ Chadband, Ian (18 April 2010). "From 'Hillbilly' to the peaks of perfection" (PDF). The Sunday Telegraph.
- ^ "Oliver Townend: My kingdom for a horse". Financial Times.
- ^ "Oliver Townend". Horse & Hound.
- ^ a b "Oliver Townend". Badminton Horse Trials.
- ^ Thomas, Katie (23 August 2010). "Equestrians' Latest Safety Option Is the Air Bag". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ "Townend's golden moment". Shropshire Star. 3 August 2021. p. 48.Report of his win at the Tokyo Olympics.
- ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N25.
- ^ "New Year Honours 2022: Jason Kenny receives a knighthood and Laura Kenny made a dame". BBC Sport. 31 December 2021.
- ^ Berendt, Tilly (11 May 2023). "Oliver Townend Given Recorded Warning by FEI Following Badminton Elimination". Retrieved 15 November 2024.
- ^ "Oliver Townend Apologizes for Badminton Whip Controversy". Horse Sport. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Sponsors drop world number one Townend after Badminton whipping scandal". www.insidethegames.biz. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Oliver Townend given warning for whip use at Blair". Horse & Hound. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
External links
edit- Official website
- Oliver Townend (and here) at FEI
- Oliver Townend at Olympedia
- Oliver Townend at Olympics.com
- Oliver Townend at Team GB
