Oliver David Townend (born 15 November 1982) is a British

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 ...

rider competing at the international three-day level. His wins include team gold at the 2007, 2009 and 2017 European Championships and wins at Badminton Horse Trials, Burghley Horse Trials, and the Kentucky Three Day Event. He also represented Britain at the World Equestrian Games in 2006 and 2014. He was the Event Rider Masters series champion in 2016. He has been eventing's world number one twice, in 2009 and again in 2018, and British number one seven times since 2009.

Biography

Townend was raised in Scapegoat Hill, a small settlement on the moors near

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. He won the junior newcomers showjumping at the Horse of the Year Show with Cool Mule aged 11, rode in the pony European Eventing Championships aged 13 and left school at 16 to pursue riding and selling horses professionally. He credits his love of horses to his parents. His father was also an event rider and his mother showed side-saddle. In 2010, Townend had his horse fall on top of him while participating in the

Rolex Kentucky Three Day The Kentucky Three-Day Event, currently the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event due to sponsorship, is an eventing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Land Rover Kentucky is a CCI5*-L eventing competition. Five st ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. He broke his collarbone, shoulder bones, sternum and four ribs, but credited the

air bag vest The air bag vest is a personal safety device worn by some motorcyclists and horse riders. Airbag vests initially found popularity among equestrian competitors, and airbags have become mandatory in professional motorcycle racing. In 2018, it became c ...

with allowing him to leave the hospital after only one day, saying that without the vest he "would be in a box or in America for a month". Townend presently lives at Ellesmere, Shropshire. Townend was appointed

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 ...

(MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism.

International Championship Results

CCI 5* Results

Notable Horses

*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 5* runner up **2019 Burghley 5* runner up **2021 Kentucky 5* winner **2020 Olympic Games - team gold, individual 5th *Cooley Master Class **2018 & 2019 Kentucky 5* winner **2019 European Championships - team silver, individual 9th **2021 Maryland 5* runner up *Swallow Springs **2022 Badminton 5* third place

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Townend, Oliver British event riders 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Huddersfield British male equestrians Equestrians at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic equestrians of Great Britain Olympic medalists in equestrian Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Members of the Order of the British Empire