Equestrian:Old guard have jump on rivals

Mark Todd. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand's equestrian fortunes are experiencing a new surge less than 15 months out from the London Olympic Games - yet the riding heroes of yesteryear are still leading the charge.

Let's start at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky last October, where the New Zealand team picked up a bronze medal and qualified an eventing spot for London 2012. That was complemented by 49-year-old Andrew Nicholson's individual bronze. Mark Todd followed on last month by becoming, at age 55, the oldest winner in the 62-year history of Badminton.

The pair - both six-time New Zealand Olympians with a seventh Games to add to their joint record next year - shape as the key to Kiwi success. They look set to be joined by Caroline Powell, who won the prestigious Burghley horse trials last September and Clarke Johnstone who has taken out the last two rounds of the international governing body's World Cup events in Kihikihi and Sydney. The fifth spot remains up for grabs with 1996 Olympic gold medalist Blyth Tait (50) one of those expected to mount a challenge.

As a double Olympic champion and the International Equestrian Federation's "rider of the 20th century", Todd's recent efforts have been rightly lauded.

Age has seldom been a hindrance to competing, as then 67-year-old Hiroshi Hoketsu demonstrated in the dressage for Japan at the Beijing Olympics - but winning is another matter.

However, Todd has always been known for his skills and composure. He has been described as capable of "making a donkey jump 10 feet" or "winning Badminton on a skateboard"

Journalist Simon Barnes of Britain's Times newspaper said when he took a wrong turn one year at Badminton and ended up next to Todd in the normally tense 10-minute box before the cross country start, Todd simply looked down at him from his mount and drawled "Oh, hi Simon". In addition, at the same venue in 1994, he won on last minute mount Horton Point. Todd acknowledges his competitive instinct has never left, even with seven years away from the circuit after the 2000 Olympics.

"I'm naturally blessed with a fairly level temperament. If anything, I thrive on pressure. I've never used a sports psychologist but I seem to have an ability to cope. Pressure brings out the best inme, it was something

I was born with and lucky to have.

"For instance, going into the final show jumping round last month [at Badminton], I had everything to lose if I'd dropped rails but when you believe in the horse and yourself - and I've been in those situations many times - I know how to cope with the nerves and the doubts."

Nicholson's pedigree is intertwined with Todd's. He worked as his groom at Badminton in 1980. Shortly after that, Nicholson moved from his family's dairy farm in the Waikato to work in English racing stables. He now buys, trains and sells horses on his own property in Wiltshire.

Nicholson, who will celebrate his 50th birthday with all New Zealand's horses on August 1, has already qualified two for London and is looking to do the same with half a dozen others over the coming months - as insurance.

London's location means he does not have to worry about logistics like transporting the horses and quarantine - enabling him to pay huge attention to other detail in preparation. Most of the Kiwi eventing riders and their horses are already based in England so will be travelling just down the road to compete.

That has harnessed Nicholson's resolve to win on the Olympic stage. He has team silver and bronze medals from 1992 and 1996. The Kiwis came closest to a team win in 1992 but his poor show jumping round on Spinning Rhombus saw Australia edge them out.

"The moment the Olympics were announced for London [in 2005] I was focusing on it," Nicholson says. "It is the best possible scenario being just down the road.

"In our sport, from a public perspective, the Olympics are everything. You only have to see the impact of Mark's gold medals.

He's won numerous Badminton and Burghley titles but the Olympics are what people remember." Nicholson says age is irrelevant when you add the experience of himself, Todd and potentially Tait. A New Zealand team has always included at least one of the trio since Todd was first selected for the New Zealand team which boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980.

"You can't fast-track knowledge," Nicholson says. "The younger riders are talented but, at the moment with Toddy and Blyth coming back, it is hard to match that experience, even if they have taken time out." Todd generally prefers to deflect praise onto his horses but says human judgment plays a part, even before riders take to the course.

"I'm lucky NZB Land Vision [his current mount] is eye catching; he moves in a powerful and elegant way. Then it comes down to accuracy in the dressage, boldness and bravery on the cross country and a careful nature in show jumping - this year he hasn't had a competition fence down.

"I'm basically looking for an athlete; a good brain to train, a body that can take the rigours of a tough sport. You can tell a lot from their eye and how they react when you first ride them.

"I couldn't do it on an ordinary horse these days, despite my experience. I guess the fact I have won a lot means I can do the job all right - and the ability to choose the right horses can't just be luck."

Despite their advancing years, both riders admit they pay little attention to general fitness - other than being "horse fit".

"That's the great thing. It is not like running, swimming or gymnastics where you have a shorter lifespan - the horse does most of the work. I look after myself - staying supple is the most important thing. I ride horses every day mixed with a bit of swimming, cycling and yoga.

Likewise, Nicholson rides every day he can: "I'm at an age where if I go too many days without it, I get aches and pains I didn't have before.

My muscles don't cope as well with the time out."