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Oliver Townend

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Oliver David Townend
MBE
Oliver Townend and Cooley Master Class, 2019 European Eventing Championship
Personal information
Nationality United Kingdom
DisciplineEventing
Born (1982-11-15) 15 November 1982 (age 42)
Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team eventing
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Pratoni del Vivaro Team Eventing
Gold medal – first place 2009 Fontainebleau Team Eventing
Gold medal – first place 2017 Strzegom Team Eventing
Silver medal – second place 2019 Luhmühlen Team eventing

Oliver David Townend MBE (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]

Biography

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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

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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

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Results
Year Event Horse Placing Notes
2007 European Championships Flint Curtis 1st place, gold medalist(s) Team
2009 European Championships Flint Curtis 1st place, gold medalist(s) Team
2017 European Championships Willingapark Cooley 1st place, gold medalist(s) Team
2019 European Championships Cooley Master Class 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Team
2020 World Young Horse Championships Cooley Rosalent 2nd place, silver medalist(s) CCI**
2021 Olympic Games Ballaghmor Class 1st place, gold medalist(s) Team
EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew

Notable horses

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  • Flint Curtis[21]
    • 2006 Badminton Horse Trials third place
    • 2007 & 2009 European Championships – team gold
    • 2009 Badminton Horse Trials winner
  • Carousel Quest[21]
    • 2009 Burghley Horse Trials winner
  • Armarda[21]
    • 2014 Badminton Horse Trials runner-up
  • Willingapark Cooley[21]
    • 2017 European Championships – team gold
    • 2018 Badminton Horse Trials runner-up
  • Cillnabraden Evo[21]
    • Badminton 5* dressage record holder (19.7)
  • Ballaghmor Class[21]
    • 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[21]
    • 2018 & 2019 Kentucky Horse Trials winner
    • 2019 European Championships – team silver, individual 9th
    • 2021 Maryland Horse Trials runner-up
  • Swallow Springs[21]
    • 2022 Badminton Horse Trials third place
  • As Is[21]
    • 2022 Maryland Horse Trials third place
  • Cooley Rosalent[21]
    • 2020 World Young Horse 6-Year-Old runner-up
    • 2023 Maryland Horse Trials third place
  • Tregilder[21]
    • 2023 Pau 5* runner-up

References

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  1. ^ a b "Oliver Townend". Horse & Hound.
  2. ^ "Athlete Performance". FEI Database.
  3. ^ a b "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.
  9. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Past Horses – Oliver Townend". Retrieved 20 November 2024.
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