Oliver Townend: Olympic gold medallist hopes Team GB's success will inspire young riders

Asked what advice he would give to young riders hoping to emulate his Olympic eventing gold medal, Britain's Oliver Townend's answer is brief and to the point.

"Hard work works."

When questioned about his relationship with Tokyo 2020 horse Ballaghmor Class, though, his response is a little less orthodox.

"If I had one silly wish in life it would be that they (horses) could talk," he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"He's the last horse I see at night out of my bedroom window and the first one that I look for in the morning. He's a good mate. We get on incredibly well.

"I hope he likes me and I definitely like him. For whatever reason, we work well together."

It's been a whirlwind few weeks for 38-year-old Townend after he, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen brought home Team GB's first eventing team gold for 49 years.

Unlike others taking a short break from their sports, Townend is already back in the saddle preparing horses for competition.

"It's not stopped since I got back. It's an obvious thing to say but it really hasn't sunk in completely, especially with coming back and going straight into competition mode again," he said.

Dining alone in Tokyo

When not riding in Tokyo, Townend was not able to do quite as much socialising with other competitors during the Games because of Covid protocols.

"I ate in a hotel room by myself for two weeks, which doesn't sound great, but I had Netflix, so no complaints," Townend said.

"It was definitely tough - a very different and strict feel, but rightly so. It was very important to paint the right picture for the local residents as well as keeping everyone safe that had travelled in (to Japan)."

Tom McEwen, Laura Collett and Oliver Townend beat Australia and France to take the gold in Tokyo

Meal-time isolation, however, has not continued since his return to his Shropshire base.

"I went into Ellesmere two days later and everywhere I went I either got given a piece of cake or a drink and I thought 'I'm going to be the fattest Olympic athlete if I'm not careful'," he said.

It has been a triumphant year for Townend, who won the Kentucky three-day event for the third year running in April - the first time he had done so aboard Ballaghmor Class.

"They (horses) actually fly a lot better than they travel by road. I think he's well used to the planes. It doesn't seem to take anything at all out of him. Obviously, they fly business class and have very smart seats," the Yorkshireman joked.

Gelling as a team

Eventing is, he admits "an incredibly expensive sport", but hopes the team's success can inspire young riders from all financial backgrounds.

"My dad was a milkman, my mum worked in a hospital taking blood from people," he said.

"I think it was one of the best and nicest things that could have happened for equestrianism because it was three normal people on a team that had started out by mucking out stables and working their backsides off, getting to the Olympics and then winning it as a team.

"With Tom and Laura we gelled brilliantly. We were there to do our job and hard work works. We get up every morning, we work horses, it's a long long road.

"I've been doing it since I was 14 or 15. We've all started at the bottom, we've all worked hard. And thank God it's finally paid off."

Oliver Townend was speaking to BBC Radio Shropshire's Clare Ashford