Todd’s ride to the top

Press, 19 April 1986, Page 20

Todd’s ride to the top

Todd’s Ride. By Sally O’Connor with Mark Todd. Inprint, 1985. 174 pp. Illustrations. $35. (Reviewed by Tui Thomas) A young lad, deeply disappointed because he had missed out on going to the New Zealand Pony Club’s National Championships in the Waikato team, said to his mother, “One day I’ll ride for New Zealand in the Olympic Games.” “That’s nice, dear,” his mother replied, and went on washing the dishes. The boy was Mark Todd, who brought fame to his country and himself when he won the individual goid medal for the three-day team event at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Four years earlier he had come into international prominence when he won the -’prestigious Badminton three-day event on Southern Comfort. It was the unknown rider’s first time round a particularly difficult course and he was the first “foreigner” in 15 years to beat the British at their own game. The author, American Sally O’Connor, is recognised as a top equestrian , writer. She is an active rider and trainer of event and dressage horses and is an international judge.

O’Connor traces the story of a dedicated young man whose Olympic triumph on Charisma was the result of a lifetime of dedication, discipline, self-sacrifice and financial hardship.

But it was the particular stress of the eight years’ struggle leading up to his Olympic victory that made Mark Todd the rider he is today. In a foreword to the book, Captain Mark Phillips describes Todd as one of the world’s truly talented horsemen and says there can never have been a more popular person within the sport. “Professional in his approach, he is still quiet, unassuming and everyone’s friend.” At the same time, says Phillips, Todd enjoys a good time and can be “a wild man at a party.” Sally O’Connor discusses with feeling Mark Todd’s romance with the British rider, Ginny Holgate, who was placed third to Todd in the Olympic event. Will he eventually marry her? That question is left unanswered. And what of his future?

When the time comes to hang up his eventing saddle, the author says, he will probably go back to training racehorses. However he earns a living, he will certainly continue to promote New Zealand-bred horses — horses he has shown with Southern Comfort, Charisma, and others to be among the best in the world.

The author writes mainly for those who understand the rigours of threeday eventing and gives jump-by-jump details. The book will also fascinate all readers interested in riding as a sport, the television and ringside spectators in their thousands.