Todd's retirement plans set to change

Reuters

UP AND OVER: Mark Todd and Gandalf clear another fence on their way to clear round in the showjumping section of equestrian's team eventing in Hong Kong.

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Mark Todd has enjoyed himself so much at the Olympic Games he might just do it again.

Todd, who stunned the equestrian world when he announced his comeback late last year, has gone from the sofa to the Olympics in just a few short months, finishing a pretty respectable 17th in the three-day event which concluded at a steamy Sha Tin race course in Hong Kong last night.

The New Zealand team finished fifth behind Germany, Australia, Great Britain and Sweden; the same result they had in Athens and on which they'd hoped to improve. And in the individual contest Caroline Powell was 14th and Joe Meyer 24th.

While the results were less than what the team had aimed for, no-one can argue with what Todd achieved in a tiny window of opportunity.

The 53-year-old said his original intention had been to make these games a one-off but it's fair to say he's fallen back in love with the lifestyle and while Todd himself is not prone to sentimentality, it's also fair to say he's got a soft spot for his horse Gandalf, the sprightly grey gelding who didn't incur a single jumping fault in either the cross-country or two rounds show jumping at these games.

"The original plan was to buy this horse, bring to it to the games, hopefully go well and then sell him but plans obviously change," Todd said.

"I'll go home now and consider my future but at this stage I'll give it one more year at least. There's a lot of improvement in this horse so I think maybe we'll keep going."

Todd said he would spend next year "consolidating" the still raw Gandalf and finding a back-up horse. If that goes well he's got his eye on the world equestrian games at Kentucky in 2010 and admitted to thinking about the London Olympics in 2012.

"I would love to go to world equestrian games in 2010. That [Kentucky] is where I started off with the New Zealand team in 1978 so it would be quite fun to go back there again and then look ahead to London."

While the thrill of having a potentially world-class horse in his hands is one attraction, Todd has also revelled in the whole Olympic scene.

"I love being in the whole atmosphere again. It's great being amongst a lot friends and people I've spent a lot of time with over the last 25 to 30 years."

Describing himself as "freshened" after his seven-year sojourn from the sport, Todd said he would compete on a small scale only: "I'd never go back to having the big team I had, I'll be keeping it low profile and enjoying it."

However, he still has to make sure his wife Carolyn and children, Lauren and James, were okay with the idea of tackling the world circuit again.

"There's lots of things to consider. I have another life breeding and training race horses in New Zealand and we have a 15-year-old son at school so all these things have to come into consideration."

But judging by the raw emotion he displayed after Gandalf's second clear round last night when he was clearly jubilant and excited about what he'd achieved, it's hard to see anything holding him back.

Gandalf will travel to England and be based at a friend's property but Todd would have to join him there to continue nurturing their relationship.

"I have to go home and have a good think about it," he said.

"I've enjoyed this, I like riding this horse. I think there's a lot of improvement in him. We just have to work out a programme."

- © Fairfax NZ News