Horse & Hound – 08 August 2019

42 Horse& Hound8 August 2019

EVENTING

WELL,thisreallyis it after

morethan 40 yearsineventing.

AndwhenI wokeupthe

morningafterannouncingmy

retirement,myfirstthought

was,“ThankGodI don’thave

togoandrideincirclesinthe

arenaanymore!”

It’sbeena manicweek,with

morepressattentionfromall

overtheworldthanI could

everhaveanticipated—and

gettingthenextstageinmy life,

trainingracehorses,up

andrunning.

Goingintothatfinalevent

atCamphire,I hadn’ttold

anyone—notmyowners,

orevenmygroom—thatit

wasgoingtobethelastone,

becauseI didn’twantanyfuss

beforehand.Itwasnicethat

I rodemylastcross-country

roundonLeonidasII—I have

hadhimnineyearsandwe’ve

beenthrougha lottogether,

both highs and lows.

TimandJonellePrice,

myteam-matesontheNew

ZealandteamatCamphire,

hadputpressureonmetogo

fastandcleartotrytowinthe

NationsCup,andfortunately

Leoobliged.

I’mquiteanemotional

person,andwhenNewZealand

teammanagerGrahamThom

announcedthatI wasretiring

andreadouta greatspiel

aboutmewhenwewereonthe

podiumafterwinning,there

werea fewtears.ButI did

turntoSamWatson,whowas

standingnexttome,andsay

thatit soundedlikeI haddied,

orsomething...

Camphiremightnothave

beenthemostobviously

glamorouseventtofinishat,

butI wasridingthreehorses

therethatPeteCattelland

DiBrunsden,whohavebeen

greatsupporterssinceI came

backtothesportin2008,

eitherownedorpart-owned,

andeverythingjustseemed

right as far as the timing was

concerned.I hadneverbeen

toCamphirebefore,butit was

lovely—old-fashionedina

goodway,ina beautifulsetting

withgoodfacilitiesandtracks,

anda reallyfun,friendlyevent.

Itwasa nicewaytobidfarewell

tothesport.

Thehorsesweown—a

seven-year-old,a six-year-old

anda five-year-old—willbe

sold,aswillKiltubridRhapsody.

PeteandDi’sCoolTideis

goingtoTimPrice,andweare

confirmingwhichriderLeowill

gotoforthecontinuationofhis

five-starcareer.

McClaren, whom I rode at

theWorldEquestrianGames

lastyearandwhohashadan

injury,hasreceivedtheall-clear

fromthevetsafterhislastscan.

Wewillrehabhimandhewill

gotoa NewZealand rider in

duecourse.

PULLTOGETHERFOR

EVENTINGTOTHRIVE

EVENTINGhasbeenmylife,

nearenough,forthepast 40

years.I’veseena lotofchanges,

andit is definitelymytimeto

finish.Thesportmustkeep

movingforward,butI find

theendlessrulechangesand

penaltyadditionsoffputting,

andsurelytheykeepmakingit

moredifficultforthepublicto

understand,notsimpler?

Andit is toofragmented;

toomanypeoplewanttoangle

it intheirdirectionforpersonal

gain,andtheyneedtopull

togethertohelpit surviveand

grow.It’sa brilliantsport,

andI hopeit continues to

MarkToddwonbacktoback thrive.H&H

individualOlympicgoldsin 1984 and

1988.HehaswonBadmintonfour

timesandwasnamedthe FEI’s rider

of the 20th century.

‘After 40 years, the timing was right’

Mark Todd bids eventing farewell, sending a warning for the sport’s future

ONLY IN HORSE & HOUND

OPINION

Leading

course-designer

Mark Phillips

NEXT

WEEK

I’vesaton,andI hopehe’llgo

five-star.”

Climbing 36 placestosixth

wasKatieCorteen’sForgeland

Tiger Tot, who delivered the

fastestroundbyfarforjust4.4

penalties.ForgelandTigerTotis

bythefamousshowingstallion

KilvingtonScoundrelandKatie

competes around her job as a

Theyoungesthorseinthe

class,six-year-oldRhodeIsland

19,rosefiveplacestotakesecond

underhisownerAnnaStillwell.

Thisis herfirstseasonat

novicebut,saidAnna:“I’mgetting

somuchoutofbeinga working

pupilforVickyTuff,andhe’sso

boldandstraightforhisage.”

LikeSaskia,Anna’snextstopis

thePonyClubChampionships.

Thirdwentto16-year-old

SophieByfordonhermother

Karen’sHandsome,a horseshe’s

producedfroma four-year-old.

“Hetriedtobuckmeoffin

thewarm-up,”smiledSophie.

“Butthesecondhegotoncourse,

hefocused.”

Hermotheradded:“Aclass

likethisis reallyvaluabletoriders

atthislevel.It’sbeen the best

atmosphere.”

COOKTAKESRORCLASS

WHOcouldhavebeenmore

deservingofthis£2,000first

prizeintheRetrainingof

Racehorses/NationalTrainers

Federationretrainedracehorse

event championship than Tina

MAGICMILLIONSFESTIVAL

OFBRITISH EVENTING

2-4 August

TomMcEwenretainshisGatcombetitle,leadingfrompillartopost

with Dreamaway II to claim the intermediate championship

solicitor(seebox,right).

Theangledhedgesona stride

attheSmithandWilliamson

cornersinthisclasscaused

moretroublethanany other

fenceallweekend.

PONYCLUBONTOP

FEWclassesconveythesheer

funofeventingliketheTopSpec

challengefortheCorinthian

cup,withtrueandoftentalented

amateurseuphoricastheyfinish.

Aptly,thetopthree—given

thePonyClub’s90thbirthday

celebrationshere—wereall

currentmembers.

SaskiaDaviesandher14-year-

oldSingingUsktookthetitle,

havinglandedsixthlastyear.

Theirstylishroundwasnine

secondsinsidethetime,whilethe

twoshelaybehindbeforecross-

countryrefusedatthefinalwater.

Saskia,24,anA-testholder

withtheLedburybranch,

workspart-timeforanevents

managementcompany.

“IknewI’dneedtobefasttodo

well,soI walkedthecoursethree

timestocheckevery line, and he

flew,” she said.