Horse & Hound – 01 August 2019

4 Horse&Hound1 August 2019

Pictures

by

trevor-meeks-photography.co.uk,

Jean Catuffe,

Peter

Nixon,

Anthony

Reynolds

and Laurence Squire

Editedby

Eleanor Jones

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TRIBUTEShavebeenpaidtoone

ofeventing’struegreats,asMark

Toddannouncedhisretirement.

The63-year-oldmadehis

decisionpubliconthewinners’

podiumoftheIrishNationsCup

leg,atCamphireon 28 July.

Mark,whowonsixOlympic

medals,includingback-to-back

individualgoldsonCharismain

1984 and1988,andfourworld

medals,aswellasfiveBurghley

winsandfourBadmintontitles,

retiredafterthe 2000 Sydney

GamesbutreturnedforBeijing

eightyearslaterandhasbeenat

thetopofthesporteversince.

THERIGHTTIME

“ICOULDN’Tkeepgoingfor

ever;it wasjustwhenwasthe

righttime,”hetoldH&H.“OnceI

startedtraining[racehorses],my

focusshifted.”

Marksaidoncehehaddecided

tostop,he“couldn’twait”.

“Ateverycompetition,I was

thinking,‘Ohmygod,is thisgoing

tobetheonetoomany?’”hesaid,

addingthathedecidedlastmonth

Camphirewouldbehislastride.

“Iwasn’tgoingtoannounceit,

I wasgoingtodisappearquietly,”

hesaid.“ButI toldmyteam-mates

andtheysaid:‘You’vegottodo

something’.SoI did.”

CompatriotBlythTaittold

H&HMarkwasa “pioneer”for

NewZealandriders,inspiring

themwithhissuccess.

“Throughoutmycareer,I’ve

enjoyedridingalongsidehim;he’s

beenverysupportiveandwe’ve

becomegoodfriends.It’ssadhe’s

callingtimebutI thinkit’sthe

righttimeforhim,”hesaid.

BlythsaidMark’sstrengths

arethatheis a “realhorseman”,a

sensitive,empatheticriderwho

cangetthebestoutofeachhorse.

“He’s belied his age and been

MarkToddhas

retiredfora

secondtime,at

theageof63,to

concentrateon

racehorsetraining

successfulrighttotheend,”he

added.“Andheremainedthe

samenaturalperson.He’salways

beennice,approachable,andhad

funalongtheway.”

EventerLauraCollettsaid

shelookeduptoMark,especially

whenherodeCharisma,asa

child,andit was“surreal”tobein

a pressconferencewithhimather

firstBadmintonin2011,which

MarkwononNZBLandVision.

“Towatchhimcomebackand

achievewhathedidis amazing

andsomethingtoaspireto,”she

said.“Butthemostamazing

thingis thatthesport’schanged

somuch;hewasoutforeight

yearsbuthewasstilloneofthe

best,justlikehehadbeen,which

is phenomenal.Tocomebackto

theOlympics,andwinanother

Badminton,is somethingmost

peoplewoulddreamof,butfor

Markit becamereality.”

FormerBadmintondirector

Hugh Thomas said Mark is “one of

thebestridersanyofuswillever

haveseen”,andhisBadminton

recordspeaksforitself.

“Fromanorganiser’spoint

ofviewhewasalwaysa delight

tohaveattheeventanda great

pleasuretodealwith,”headded.

EventerHarryMeadetold

H&Hit is rareanindividualis

“almostbiggerthanthesport”.

“Thisis theendofanerathat’s

spannedgenerationsbutalsoit’s

anamazingfeattogooutstillat

thetop,andinonepiece,”hesaid.

“He’sbeenlikePeterPan,

butwe’resadtheinevitableday

hasfinallycome.He’llalwaysbe

rememberedasa truegreatofthe

sport,anda thoroughlygoodguy

toridealongside.”

Marksaidhefelt“amixof

sadnessandrelief ”.

“Thecamaraderieamong

ridersis somethingveryspecial,”

hesaid.“I’vehadamazingowners,

sponsors,peopleworkingforme;

eventing is one big family.

ByELEANORJONES

Eventing legend and ‘great

horseman’ bows out again

“It’sbeenamazing,beingpart

ofit andI’llmissthat,andthe

excitementofcross-country,the

highaftera goodround.

“ButI won’tmissthatsick

feelinginthestomachoncross-

countrymorningatBadminton,

Burghleyorchampionships!”

Lookingback,Marksaidhe

couldnotpickoneperformancein

particularasa highlight.

“Everybigwinwasa thrill,”

hesaid.“ThetwoOlympicson

Charisma,althoughtocomeback

afteraneight-yearbreakandwin

Badmintonwasprettyamazing.”

Markwillstillrideandteach

aswellastrainingracehorses,and

theplanis tostayinBritainforthe

“foreseeablefuture”.

Askedif retirementwouldend

ashisfirstdid,helaughed.

“Lasttime,it tookmeseven

anda halfyearstodecidetocome

back,andeventhenit wasonlyfor

a dare,”hesaid.“It’snot going to

happen this time.”

Marksaidhis 2011

Badmintonwin,after

hisfirstretirement,was

‘pretty amazing’