New Zealand’s Mark Todd, two-time Olympic equestrian champion, had his training license suspended after a video depicted him striking a horse with a tree branch. The alleged incident took place during a cross country training session reportedly headed by Todd.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) stated, “The Chair of British racing’s Independent Judicial Panel has today approved an application from the BHA that an interim suspension should be placed on the training licence of Sir Mark Todd following the emergence over the weekend of a video showing him striking a horse with what appears to be a branch.”
The organization added that Todd would be prohibited from racing horses internationally or in Great Britain during the imposed interim suspension.
The BHA added, “the trainer has admitted the individual involved in the video was him, has apologised for his actions and agreed to the imposition of an interim suspension.”
In a previous statement on Sunday, the BHA commented, “the footage seen this weekend of Sir Mark Todd hitting a horse with a branch has rightly caused anger and upset within the equestrian community and beyond.”
“His behaviour, for which he has apologised, fell a long way short of the standards of care we expect of licensed individuals and that we know is provided to the overwhelming majority of horses in training in Britain every day.”
Todd is a prominent figure within equestrianism. He was the first rider to defend an eventing title at the Summer Olympics, winning the event in both 1984 and 1988. He competed at seven editions of the Summer Olympics, serving as a flagbearer for New Zealand at 1992 Summer Olympics.
Todd was voted Rider of the 20th Century by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports and named New Zealand Sportsperson of the Year in 1998, as well as inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.
Todd’s horse striking incident is the second major high-profile horse striking incident in less than a year, after German modern pentathlon coach Kim Raisner was disqualified for striking a horse during the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The incidents raise serious questions about horse safety in equine sports. The incident involving Raisner is viewed as a catalyst in the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne’s (UIPM) decision to drop the equestrian portion of the sport in favor of an unannounced fifth discipline.
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