Book description
Mark Todd's eventing career is the stuff of legend and encompasses one
of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time.
When he 'retired' from competing in eventing in 2000, he had already
been named 'Rider of the Century' for his natural empathy with a horse
and his extraordinary success, which included back-to-back Olympic gold
medals, five Burghley wins and three Badminton victories. He has also
show jumped to Olympic level and trained winners on the racecourse.
Considered a legendary horseman by his peers, he seemed to have done it
all.
He returned to train racehorses in his native New Zealand but, eight
years later, the idea of a comeback took root, part dare, part personal
challenge to see if he could still cut it in a changed sport. Within
eight months, he was riding at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and in 2011, he
hit the headlines by becoming the oldest rider to win Badminton. He is
now at the forefront of New Zealand's resurgence ahead of the London
Olympic Games.
The story of his progress from dairy farmer to world renown is told
with typically laid-back humour, but it reveals the fierce
determination, discipline and personal sacrifice which lies behind the
relaxed outlook. Mark Todd, CBE, is the only rider since 1932 to win
back-to-back Olympic gold medals in eventing, which he achieved in 1984
and 1988 on his best-loved horse, Charisma. In 2008, he returned to the
top of the sport after an eight-year break, competing at his fifth
Olympic Games, in Beijing, winning a team bronze medal team for New
Zealand at the World Equestrian Games in 2010 and Badminton on Land
Vision in 2011. He is now based back in England, in Berkshire. Kate
Green, who worked with Mark on this book, has been closely involved with
the sport for more than 20 years, reporting the last four Olympic Games
and many major championships. She also worked on the autobiographies of
Pippa Funnell and Mary King. She works as managing editor of Country
Life.
