Friday Video from SmartPak: Mark Todd, the Multidisciplinary Man, Myth, and Legend

An Equine Master – Sir Mark Todd

💬 "I have an empathy with animals, particularly horses"The great Sir Mark Todd reflects on his career, racehorse training and the possibility of competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 🙌

Posted by World Horse Racing on Thursday, April 11, 2019

Sir Mark Todd would be quite cool enough if all he’d ever done in life was event. After all, he’s proven to be rather good at it — he won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in ’84 and ’88, he’s won Burghley five times, Badminton four times, he’s a two-time gold medallist at the World Championships, he was named the FEI’s rider of the 20th century, and he’s been freakin’ knighted. So he’s doing alright for himself, all things considered.

But Toddy, who turned 63 last month, is no layabout, either — he’s the sort of person who’s determined to fit as much fun as he possibly can into the life he’s been given. So, in pursuit of that fun, he’s turned back to his original love: horse-racing. Alongside preparing for a little event in Gloucestershire in three weeks’ time, he’s been flying back and forth to Australia to train New Zealand Bloodstock’s He’s Eminent, who finished second in his first race under Toddy’s auspices. Now, he’s set to take on the incredible Winx this weekend in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Sydney — and if it goes well, we might not actually see him at Badminton at all. 

“Plans seem to be changing quite rapidly at the moment. I am supposed to be going back to ride at Badminton, which is the first week of May,” he told HorseTalk.co.nz. “But, if the horse runs really well on Saturday, we might now be going to Hong Kong in two weeks’ time. It is a case of one run at a time with He’s Eminent.”

Whichever way he decides to go, one thing’s for certain: we’re incredibly lucky to have been able to enjoy a sport with Toddy in it.