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Sir Mark James Todd (born 1 March 1956) is a New Zealand horseman noted for his accomplishments in the discipline of
eventing
Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...
, voted Rider of the 20th century by the
International Federation for Equestrian Sports
The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports.
The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from physical abu ...
.
He won gold medals at Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988)
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, the
Badminton Horse Trials
The Badminton Horse Trials is a eventing, five-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International, Concours Complet International (CCI) Five Star events as classified by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, Fédér ...
on four occasions,
the
Burghley Horse Trials
The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is an annual three-day event held at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, currently in early September. Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is classified by the FEI as one of the six leading th ...
five times,
and as a member of New Zealand's
Eventing
Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...
team, he won gold medals at the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in 1990 and 1998 (
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
), plus 20 or more other international events, and numerous other international individual and team titles.
In 1988, he was announced as the New Zealand Sportsperson of the year and winner of the
Supreme Halberg Award.
In the same year, he was inducted into the
New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame
The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall o ...
.
On 25 April 2011, Todd completed a fourth Badminton victory riding NZB Land Vision, becoming the oldest winner of the event.
By winning his fifth Olympic medal at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, Todd equalled the Olympic record established by Hungarian fencer
Aladár Gerevich for the longest gap between first and last Olympic medals — 28 years
— and shares the record for
second-most Olympic medals won by a New Zealander with canoeists
Ian Ferguson and
Paul MacDonald
Christopher Paul MacDonald (born 8 January 1960) is a New Zealand sprint canoeist who competed from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. He is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most successful international athletes and holds innumerable ...
.
The
2016 Games were Todd's seventh, having previously competed in 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2008 and 2012. Todd is the first New Zealander to have competed at
seven Olympic Games.
In February of 2022, a video emerged of Todd repeatedly hitting a horse with a branch for refusing to enter a water obstacle at a training clinic.
Early life
Born in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, New Zealand,
he developed a deep and abiding passion for horses.
[(Todd, 1998 p. 1)] He rode at
pony club
Pony Club is an international youth organization devoted to educating youth about horses and riding. Pony Club organizations exist in over thirty countries worldwide.
Origins
Pony Club began in Great Britain in 1929 when the Institute of the ...
as a youngster and competed at local shows.
Todd considered becoming a
jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
but quickly grew to 6 ft 2 in which forced him into
show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...
instead. In reference to his riding skills, fellow New Zealand team member, Andrew Nicholson, is quoted as saying "Mark can ride anything – he could go cross-country on a dairy cow!”
On leaving school Todd pursued a career as a farmer, gaining a Diploma of Agriculture at the
Waikato Technical Institute, and working on farms while fitting in riding, competing and selling horses.
Equestrian career
In 1978, he was part of New Zealand's first three-day eventing team to contest a world championship, at
Lexington,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, United States. He was 10th after the
dressage
Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...
and second in the
steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:
* Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles
* Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...
, but then his horse, Tophunter, broke down during the cross-country stage.
Thereafter, Todd moved to England, where he mucked out stables and obtained use of horses for event rides. At his first attempt, in 1980, he won the
Badminton Horse Trials
The Badminton Horse Trials is a eventing, five-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International, Concours Complet International (CCI) Five Star events as classified by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, Fédér ...
riding Southern Comfort.
Todd was a virtual unknown when he arrived, with fellow New Zealander Andrew Nicholson as his groom.
Todd is recognized as a pioneer of three-day eventing in New Zealand. His success was followed by fellow New Zealand Olympic medallists and world champions like
Tinks Pottinger,
Blyth Tait
Robert Blyth Tait (born 10 May 1961) is a New Zealand equestrian. Tait has competed at four Olympics and has won four medals, one of only four New Zealanders to do so.
Tait's first success at international level was at the 1990 World Equestri ...
,
Vaughn Jefferis,
Vicky Latta,
Sally Clark and Nicholson. Jefferis once said: "We all owe a huge debt to Mark Todd. He was the first, and he paved the way for us".
Career
Todd became a popular sportsman in his home country and some of the horses he rode also became well-known. Most notable was
Charisma
Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects.
Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
, the
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
(with 1/16
Percheron
The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well muscled, and k ...
) Todd rode when winning successive Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1988.
Charisma was retired to a Waikato farm after the Seoul Olympics but appeared with Todd for later public appearances including flag bearing at the 1990
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
New Zealand. Charisma died aged 30 from a broken shoulder.
In 1984 Todd borrowed a yard at
Kington St Michael
Kington St Michael is a village and civil parish about north of Chippenham in Wiltshire, England.
Location
Kington St Michael is about west of the A350 which links Chippenham with junction 17 of the M4 motorway; the village is about south ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, from his friend
Charles Cottenham, so that he could base himself in England.
In the
1985 New Year Honours
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, Todd was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, and he was elevated to
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in the
1995 Queen's Birthday Honours.
Todd also competed at the Sydney
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
, where he won an individual bronze medal. His win was somewhat clouded by allegations in the ''
Sunday Mirror
The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...
'' that Todd had used
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
with a homosexual partner prior to final team selection. The controversy was a matter of national debate,
and almost cost Todd his team selection.
Retirement
Todd retired from international competition following the Olympics and returned to live in New Zealand. Todd and his family moved to Rivermonte Farm near his home town of Cambridge
in
Waikato
Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...
to breed horses and concentrate on several business ventures, including the manufacture/retail of harness and other tack. His Thoroughbreds enjoyed racing success, including wins in the
Wellington Cup
The Wellington Cup is a Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand held annually in late January at Trentham Racecourse in Trentham by the Wellington Racing Club.
History
Inaugurated in 1874, the Wellington Cup has been raced over various ...
and
New Zealand Oaks
The New Zealand Oaks is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run at set weights over a distance of 2400 metres ( miles) on the third Saturday of March every year at Trentham Racecourse in Wellington, New Zealand.
It was r ...
. He remained closely involved with the administration of the eventing, acting as coach for the NZ Olympic Eventing team at Athens in 2004. He continued to compete in eventing at a local level and to support the sport in general.
Comeback
On 25 January 2008, ''
Horse & Hound
''Horse & Hound'' is the oldest equestrian weekly magazine of the United Kingdom. Its first edition was published in 1884. The magazine contains horse industry news, reports from equestrian events, veterinary advice about caring for horses, and h ...
'' announced online that Mark Todd was to make a return to Eventing eight years after he retired in Sydney. He purchased a 10-year-old grey called Gandalf to campaign for selection to ride at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
. His comeback was sponsored by New Zealand Bloodstock.
On 19 May 2008, Todd placed sixth at a three-day equestrian event in Saumur, France. Subsequently, achieving qualification and selection for the Olympics, he put up one of the best performances of the NZ team, in what was only his eighth competition in eight years. The New Zealand team finished fifth, and Todd managed the second best individual performance for the team, coming in 17th overall.
Following Beijing, Todd competed for the inaugural
Express Eventing International Cup on Gandalf. However, three refusals in the show jumping portion resulted in a poor placing. In February 2009, Todd announced that he was making a full return to elite level eventing, basing himself in England with a team of up to 8 horses including Gandalf.
Competing at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, Todd became the second oldest New Zealand Olympian in history.
In the
2013 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hon ...
, Todd was appointed a
Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
for services to equestrian sport. His investiture at Buckingham Palace in May 2013 took place only days after the death of his father, Norm.
Todd got selected to represent New Zealand at the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
. Once again he became the second oldest New Zealand Olympian in history, as the fellow equestrian
Julie Brougham made her Olympic debut at the age of 62. At the Games held in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Todd finished 4th in the
team competition and 7th
individually. Todd was the last team member to compete in the jumping phase, however, he uncharacteristically dropped four rails. As a result, New Zealand team missed out on a possible gold medal. Todd later described this outcome as one of the biggest lows of his career.
Viral video
In February 2022, a two-year old video emerged of Todd hitting a horse with a tree branch at a training clinic. The horse had refused to enter a water obstacle, and Todd hit it ten times. Todd issued an apology after the video was published.
[ The ]British Horseracing Authority
The British Horseracing Authority, also known simply as the BHA, is the regulatory authority for horse racing in Great Britain.
It was formed on 31 July 2007, after the merger of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Horseracing Regulat ...
(BHA) announced it was carrying out an investigation. In the interim, Todd was issued with a temporary suspension of his licence. Todd stepped down as a patron of the charity World Horse Welfare
World Horse Welfare is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and Scotland that was previously named The International League for the Protection of Horses. Anne, Princess Royal is its patron.
History
World Horse Welfare was founded in 1927 a ...
.[ Todd's training licence was returned to him on 14 April 2022 after an independent disciplinary panel issued him with a four month suspension with two months deferred, which meant that he had already served the eight-week suspension.
]
Partial CCI 5* Results
Partial International Championship results
Personal life
Todd married Carolyn Berry in 1986 and had two children, Lauren and James. They separated in 2009. The couple remarried in 2014, with only their children present as witnesses.
Todd's autobiography, ''So Far, So Good'', was published in 1998. He has had several other books published including ''Charisma'' (1989), ''One Day Eventing'', ''Mark Todd’s Cross-Country Handbook'' (1995) and ''Novice Eventing with Mark Todd'' (1996). He has also produced a series of training videos.
References
Further reading
*Todd, M., ''So Far, So Good: The Autobiography'', 1998, Hodder Moa Beckett
Hodder is an English surname, derived from the Old English word "hod", meaning hood.
People
* Christopher Hodder-Williams (1926–1995), British writer
*Francis Hodder (1906–1943), Irish cricketer, rugby union player and Royal Air Force officer
...
Publishers Limited, Auckland, New Zealand.
*Romanos, J.,'' Our Olympic Century''. 2008, Trio Books Limited, Wellington New Zealand.
External links
*
*
Biography at FEI.com
Eventing Radio (2009 interview)
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Mark
1956 births
Living people
New Zealand event riders
Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand
Olympic silver medalists for New Zealand
Olympic bronze medalists for New Zealand
Olympic equestrians of New Zealand
New Zealand male equestrians
Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic medalists in equestrian
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from Cambridge, New Zealand
New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
New Zealand sportsmen
People in sports awarded knighthoods