Oliver Townend tells H&H: “I’ll be riding again in a few days”

Oliver Townend says he’ll be riding in a few days following his crashing fall in Kentucky.

Oliver’s second horse, Ashdale Cruise Master, somersaulted at fence 12, The Hollow, on Saturday at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day-Event — landing on Oliver and ending his hopes of winning the Rolex Grand Slam.

Oliver was airlifted to hospital after being knocked unconscious, and has sustained a broken shoulder, collarbone, sternum and four broken ribs. As he was knocked out, he cannot compete for 21 days.

But despite this, the tough Yorkshireman spent Sunday night sleeping on the floor of Chicago airport waiting for his connecting flight home. Bad weather had delayed flights out of the US.

Now back in Shropshire after the epic ordeal, Oliver told H&H this afternoon that he planned to start riding at home in a few days.

“Who knows when I’ll be competing again, we’ll see,” he said, “but I’ll start riding a few days time.

“I’m not in that much pain to sit on one at home.”

Oliver has credited his Champion hat and Point Two jacket with minimising the “crunching” fall at Kentucky.

“These sorts of falls are the sort that people haven’t got up from previously,” he said.

“It’s down to personal preference, but in my opinion it’s not going to do any harm if someone has a Point Two on.

“Anyone who has seen the results of this jacket and doesn’t have one on is slow on the uptake in my opinion.”

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