Evergreen Todd upbeat about medal chances
New Zealand’s Mark Todd, 58, boasts the lengthiest career of any rider at this year’s World Equestrian Games. His first major event was the notorious 1978 World Championships in Lexington, a very different event to this year’s WEG.
Were you always going to ride Leonidas here in Normandy?
Yes that was always the plan. He’s my top horse at the moment.
How do you rate your medal chances?
We’ve come here with a strong team. On paper the New Zealanders and the Germans would be the favourites. But the way the conditions are at the moment the form book could be thrown out of the window, as Badminton showed in the spring. If a contest isn’t going to be a dressage competition that really levels out the playing field.
Will the cross-country course suit your horse?
He’s a good jumper so I’m happy to be sitting on him.
How does this venue differ from your first experience of a World Championships in 1978?
It is different in every way from Lexington [where a tough cross-country course caused numerous falls and the hot and humid weather took its toll]. This is a fabulous venue. It is just a shame the weather has turned out so wet.
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