British equestrian sportsman
Oliver David Townend (born 15 November 1982) is a British horse rider. He has represented Great Britain at theEuropean Eventing Championships , winning the team gold medals in 2007, 2009, and 2017.[ 1] He has also won competing in events such as theBadminton Horse Trials ,Burghley Horse Trials , and theKentucky Three-Day Event .[ 2]
Townend represented Great Britain at theWorld 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 ineventing twice, in 2009 and 2018.[ 5] He has also been ranked number one British eventing rider on seven occasions since 2009.[ 6]
Townend onFlint Curtis at the 2008 World Cup leg of Chatsworth Townend grew up inScapegoat Hill , nearHuddersfield inWest Yorkshire .[ 7] He won the junior newcomersshowjumping at the Horse of the Year Show with Cool Mule at age 11,[ 8] rode in the ponyEuropean 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]
In 2010, Townend suffered a rotational fall at theRolex Kentucky Three Day inLexington, Kentucky , and was crushed by his horse. He broke his collarbone, shoulder bones, sternum, and four ribs, but credited hisairbag vest with minimizing his injuries.[ 10]
Townend currently lives inEllesmere, Shropshire .[ 11]
He was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2022 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism.[ 12] [ 13]
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" atFloors Castle in 2017.[ 15] In 2018, he received an official warning for “abuse of horse/excessive use of the whip” at theBadminton Horse Trials .[ 16] He subsequently lost two sponsors and apologized.[ 17] He received further warnings for whip use at theBlair Castle International Horse Trials in 2018 and at an indoor horse trial competition in Stockholm in 2022,[ 18] [ 19] and was disciplined by theFEI for dangerous riding atBadminton in 2023.[ 20]
Winning International Championships [ edit ] Results Year Event Horse Placing Notes 2007 European Championships Flint Curtis Team 2009 European Championships Flint Curtis Team 2017 European Championships Willingapark Cooley Team 2019 European Championships Cooley Master Class Team 2020 World Young Horse Championships Cooley Rosalent CCI** 2021 Olympic Games Ballaghmor Class Team EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew
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 2024 Maryland 5* 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] ^a b "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 . 5 September 2014.^ "Oliver Townend" . Badminton Horse Trials.^ Thomas, Katie (23 August 2010)."Equestrians' Latest Safety Option Is the Air Bag" .The New York Times . Retrieved1 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" . Retrieved15 November 2024 . ^ "Oliver Townend Apologizes for Badminton Whip Controversy" .Horse Sport . 7 May 2018. Retrieved17 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 . Retrieved17 July 2024 . ^ "Sponsors drop world number one Townend after Badminton whipping scandal" .www.insidethegames.biz . 15 May 2018. Retrieved17 July 2024 .^ "Oliver Townend given warning for whip use at Blair" .Horse & Hound . 3 September 2018. Retrieved17 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 . Retrieved17 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 . Retrieved17 July 2024 . ^a b c d e f g h i j k "Past Horses – Oliver Townend" . Retrieved20 November 2024 .
1912 : Nordlander ,Adlercreutz ,Casparsson ,Åminne (SWE ) 1920 : Mörner ,Lundström ,von Braun ,Dyrsch (SWE ) 1924 : van der Voort van Zijp ,de Mortanges ,de Kruijff ,Colenbrander (NED ) 1928 : de Mortanges ,de Kruijff ,van der Voort van Zijp (NED ) 1932 : Thomson ,Chamberlin ,Argo (USA ) 1936 : Stubbendorf ,Lippert ,von Wangenheim (GER ) 1948 : Henry ,Anderson ,Thomson (USA ) 1952 : von Blixen-Finecke ,Stahre ,Frölén (SWE ) 1956 : Weldon ,Rook ,Hill (GBR ) 1960 : Morgan ,Lavis ,Roycroft (AUS ) 1964 : Checcoli ,Angioni ,Ravano (ITA ) 1968 : Allhusen ,Meade ,Jones (GBR ) 1972 : Meade ,Gordon-Watson ,Parker ,Phillips (GBR ) 1976 : Coffin ,Plumb ,Davidson ,Tauskey (USA ) 1980 : Blinov ,Salnikov ,Volkov ,Rogozhin (URS ) 1984 : Plumb ,Stives ,Fleischmann ,Davidson (USA ) 1988 : Erhorn ,Baumann ,Kaspareit ,Ehrenbrink (FRG ) 1992 : Green ,Rolton ,Hoy ,Ryan (AUS ) 1996 : Schaeffer ,Rolton ,Hoy ,Dutton (AUS ) 2000 : Dutton ,Hoy ,Tinney ,Ryan (AUS ) 2004 : Boiteau ,Lyard ,Courrèges ,Teulère ,Touzaint (FRA ) 2008 : Thomsen ,Ostholt ,Dibowski ,Klimke ,Romeike (GER ) 2012 : Auffarth ,Jung ,Klimke ,Schrade ,Thomsen (GER ) 2016 : Laghouag ,Lemoine ,Nicolas ,Vallette (FRA ) 2020 : Collett ,McEwen ,Townend (GBR ) 2024 : Canter ,McEwen ,Collett (GBR )
1953 : Great Britain : (Weldon ,Hindley ,Hill )1954 : Great Britain : (Hill ,Weldon ,Rook ,Mason )1955 : Great Britain : (Weldon ,Hill ,Rook ,Mason )1957 : Great Britain : (Willcox ,Marsh ,Allhusen ,Tatham-Warter )1959 : West Germany : (Lütke-Westhüs ,Pohlmann ,Dehning ,Klimke )1962 : Soviet Union : (Gazyumov ,Deyev ,Baklyshkin ,Mursalimov )1965 : Soviet Union : (Gorelkin ,Mursalimov ,Yevdokimov ,Baklyshkin )1967 : Great Britain : (Whitely ,Allhusen ,Jones ,Meade )1969 : Great Britain : (Walker ,Allhusen ,Hely-Hutchinson ,Jones )1971 : Great Britain : (West ,Meade ,Gordon-Watson ,Phillips )1973 : West Germany : (Blöcker ,Mergler ,Karsten ,Klugmann )1975 : Soviet Union : (Gornushko ,Kalinin ,Lanyugin ,Tishkin )1977 : Great Britain : (Prior-Palmer ,Holderness-Roddam ,Collins ,Strachan )1979 : Ireland : (Watson ,Foster ,Lillingston ,Cantillon )1981 : Great Britain : (Purbrick ,Benson ,Meade ,Holgate )1983 : Sweden : (Persson ,Breisner ,Ingvarsson ,Ullsten )1985 : Great Britain : (Holgate ,Clarke ,Stark ,Green )1987 : Great Britain : (Leng ,Stark ,Hunt ,Green )1989 : Great Britain : (Powell ,Stark ,Leng ,Clarke-Sutherland )1991 : Great Britain : (Stark ,Walker ,Straker ,Thomson )1993 : Sweden : (Christensson ,Bergendorff ,Duvander ,Hermann )1995 : Great Britain : (Bathe ,Gifford ,Fox-Pitt ,King )1997 : Great Britain : (Bartle ,Stark ,King ,Fox-Pitt )1999 : Great Britain : (Gifford ,Brakewell ,Stark ,Funnell )2001 : Great Britain : (Law ,Brakewell ,Fox-Pitt ,Funnell )2003 : Great Britain : (Brakewell ,Fox-Pitt ,Law ,Funnell )2005 : Great Britain : (Phillips ,Fox-Pitt ,Brakewell ,Law )2007 : Great Britain : (Townend ,Dick ,Phillips ,King )2009 : Great Britain : (Cook ,Fox-Pitt ,Wilson ,Townend )2011 : Germany : (Jung ,Auffarth ,Klimke ,Dibowski )2013 : Germany : (Jung ,Klimke ,Schrade ,Dibowski )2015 : Germany : (Jung ,Auffarth ,Klimke ,Schrade )2017 : Great Britain : (Cook ,Wilson ,Canter ,Townend )2019 : Germany : (Klimke ,Jung ,Dibowski ,Rüder )2021 : Great Britain : (Wilson ,March ,King ,Canter )2023 : Great Britain : (Collett ,Ingham ,King ,Canter )2025 : Germany : (Lübbeke ,Hansen-Hotopp ,Robiné ,Jung )