Equestrian: Todd back on winners' podium

Mark Todd. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

New Zealand eventing great Mark Todd returned to the winner's podium for the first time in a decade when winning the two-star Houghton International Horse Trials in England.

The two-time Olympic champion won a close-fought battle with British rider Chris King and 2007 winner William Fox-Pitt, to claim his first major title since the Burghley Horse Trials of 1999.

Riding Walk the Line, Todd led from start to finish but it came down to the wire in a showjumping finish.

A clear round defended his final tally of 47.1 penalty points, leaving him just 0.1 ahead of King on Rudolf III. Fox-Pitt was a further 2.1 penalties adrift on Neuf de Coeurs.

Todd returned to competitive riding last year after retiring following the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

He was the 18th individual and part of the fifth-placed New Zealand team at the Beijing Games last year and has returned to Britain to base himself for a campaign ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.

Todd had ridden Walk the Line in just four competitions previously and said he was still adjusting to the horse's nuances.

He hit the front with a dressage score of 43.7 but saw his lead whittled away when he picked up 1.2 time penalties in the cross-country phase, leaving no room for error in the showjumping.

Meanwhile, Hawkes Bay rider Anna Trent starts the second leg of United States showjumping's Triple Crown in California one up on the opposition.

The 23-year-old fronted a New Zealand trifecta in the $30,000 grand prix at the Golden State Show in Sacramento at the weekend.

If she and Muskateer can win the three grand prix starts of the Triple Crown, they'll be in for a $50,000 windfall and if they continue their good form and manage to win the most money of the three starts, they'll pocket a $10,000 bonus.

At Sacramento, Trent and 9-year-old Muskateer lined up in the five-strong jump-off which included fellow New Zealanders Peter Breakwell on 10-year-old Lucas and Guy Thomas on his 9-year-old stallion Peterbilt.

The 2400m course was a technical one and included a downhill slope to challenge the 37 starters in the class.

Trent was 13th to go in the first round. Just before her, New Zealander Duncan McFarlane and his 7-year-old stallion Mr Whoopi were unlucky to pick up a time fault, leaving them out of the jump-off but still in the money, finishing sixth.

In the jump-off Trent and Muskateer flew home two seconds ahead of second-placed Breakwell, with Thomas another second further back.

"I was so hungry for a win," Trent said. "Red (Muskateer) was super. It was a cool finish for us Kiwis and a great start to the Triple Crown series for me."

- NZPA