Oliver Townend's final hurrah for true eventing great Ballaghmor Class
Olympic gold medallist and nine-time eventing major winner Oliver Townend will never be short of superlatives when it comes to describing his ‘best mate’ Ballaghmor Class.
“Where do you start? He’s the horse of a lifetime, like driving an F1 car,” says Oliver, his face illuminated by memories of spectacular accomplishments together that will see them recognised among the greatest partnerships in the sport.
Ballaghmor Class, or Thomas as he is known at Oliver’s base, will be officially retired during the final day of this year’s Defender Burghley Horse Trials in Lincolnshire this weekend. The 19-year-old grey gelding will require no introduction for those packing out Burghley’s main arena, and Oliver, who was raised in Scapegoat Hill, near Huddersfield, recognises it as a perfect stage given his three titles there and the unbreakable family bond with a place where his father, Alan, competed as an amateur.
The roll of honour makes for inspired reading. Two Burghley victories – the first of which came on Ballaghmor Class’ elite five-star-level debut in 2017 – and similarly stellar wins at Kentucky and Maryland, and they spearheaded Great Britain's first Olympic eventing team triumph for 49 years in Tokyo. With two additional Burghley podium finishes and twice Badminton runners-up, the list runs to 10 consecutive top-five placings in five-star competitions, a record-breaking feat unlikely to be repeated. “I’ve had a good career without him, but it’s quite simply an amazing career with him,” he said.
Ballaghmor Class was only out of the top five once from nine starts at Badminton and Burghley, while 13 clear cross-country rounds in a row is the longest streak of any horse at five-star since 2008, and he belongs to an exclusive club of four horses to have won Burghley more than once.
Diarmuid Byrne, managing director of analytics company EquiRatings that helps manage and promote equestrian sport, said: “What sets Ballaghmor Class apart in the data is his consistency across the toughest tracks. He was a horse answering the same hard questions, at the same elite venues, year after year. He reminded us what a true five-star horse actually is – one that shows up, stays sound and delivers across the majors year after year. Ballaghmor Class came at a pivotal moment for eventing. When horses are dodging the biggest competitions and the circuit is fragmenting, he was the counter-narrative – proof that if you breed, buy and produce a proper event horse, you can compete at the highest level consistently. He didn’t need the sport to change – he showed the sport what is possible when you get it right.”
Oliver’s nine career successes at CCI5*-L have only been bettered by William Fox-Pitt. He announced his arrival by landing Badminton and Burghley titles in 2009 aboard Flint Curtis and Carousel Quest, respectively. Approaching two decades later, he remains one of eventing’s genuine superstars, twice climbing to world number one. At 42, Oliver, now based in Shropshire, does not intend to step away any time soon.
Tomorrow at Burghley will be emotional for Oliver, his support team, the horse’s owners Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop, Val and Peter Ryan, and the many thousands accustomed to Ballaghmor Class transcending his sport. In 116 runs from novice to five-star, he won a staggering 29 times, finishing among the top three on 53 occasions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the view from Townend’s bedroom window includes the stable that houses him, and will continue to do so after retirement.
Oliver said: “He’s different. I don’t think he has ever been fully tamed. That doesn’t make him not civilised – he is beautiful to deal with in the stable – but there are a couple of quirks. He has always been quirky to get on, and you have to be very switched-on and have a good person on the ground to get you on. At the beginning of every year, when we go to get back on him, it is literally like rebreaking a three-year-old. I guess he was just an incredible event horse. He just did everything very well. I remember him winning a novice class at a young age and an intermediate class at a young age, and all of a sudden you are thinking, ‘This lad is a bit different’. Whatever that difference is made him find things quite easy in many ways."
“We have been described as the horse and human equivalent of each other. We are both from humble beginnings, and I am known to be a bit quirky also. We both very much have a similar mentality,” Townend added. “ It is a very special thing to have him with us, and he will be with us for the rest of his days. He has played a major role in eventing history.”