Oliver Townend has paid tribute to Ballaghmor Class, the horse who excelled at the top of his sport for almost a decade, helped him achieve his childhood dreams – and is “my Milton”.
“Thomas”, owned by Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop and Val Ryan, has retired aged 19, after a stellar career in which he and Oliver won four times at five-star, took Olympic team gold and showed huge consistency at the top level.
The Irish-bred gelding will spend the rest of his life with Oliver, enjoying scaled-down work to keep him happy, and in the same routine from which he has always benefited.
“I’ve been lucky enough to ride some very good horses, and have a good career before him but with him I’ve had the pinnacle of my career,” Oliver told H&H.
“He’s enabled me to achieve a lot of my childhood dreams, he took me places I never really believed I’d get to or aimed for. I never really thought I’d get to an Olympics; it was all about five-stars and making a living. But to perform from start to finish the way he did, at the top level, made him a celebrity within the sport, and the Olympics made him a celebrity outside the sport.”
In 13 years of eventing, Oliver and Thomas won Burghley twice, and the Kentucky and Maryland five-stars once each, and secured 10 top-five CCI5* places as well as countless other international wins – and Olympic team gold in 2021. Ballaghmor Class finished his last competition, Pau CCI5*, sound and happy last year, bowing out at the top of his game.
“He’ll keep doing things, to keep him happy, and he’ll spend the rest of his life here,” Oliver said. “He’s very much got his own routine and everybody has to work round him.
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“I grew up watching John Whitaker and Milton and for me, he’s the equivalent, my Milton.”
Thomas will be officially retired at Burghley this year (3-6 September).
Do you have a favourite memory of Ballaghmor Class that you’d like to share? Please write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine
Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
