In-form Oliver Townend is living the (American) dream

The 35-year-old heads to the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials later this week knowing that victory will secure a £355,000 jackpot.

Apart from Badminton’s £100,000 top prize, he is also chasing the £255,000 Rolex Grand Slam, which is awarded to any rider who wins consecutive Burghley, Kentucky and Badminton four-star titles.

Shropshire-based Townend flew home from the United States yesterday after adding the Land Rover Kentucky crown to his Burghley triumph last September.

And it is now all systems go for Badminton, where he will ride Cooley SRS and his Burghley champion Ballaghmor Class, while he could also overtake reigning Olympic champion Michael Jung as world No.1 before the Gloucestershire showpiece, with latest rankings due to be published this week.

Only Jung, who Townend and Cooley Master Class beat into second place at Kentucky, and Britain’s Pippa Funnell have previously completed the Grand Slam triumvirate, which underlines Townend’s degree of difficulty.

But he will arrive at Badminton full of confidence, having also helped Great Britain to European team gold in Poland seven months ago, when he rode Cooley SRS.

“I am very fortunate to have two nice horses also belonging to (Cooley Master Class’ owner) Angela Hislop and we are living in a dream world,” said Townend, from Duddleston Heath, near Ellesmere.

“She came up to me about six years ago and said if she was going to own horses for me she wanted a four-star winner and a British team horse, and now we’ve had both. “So we are both living in a dream world, and hopefully it will continue for another week – please!”

British No.1 Townend triumphed in Kentucky after jumping a brilliant showjumping clear round to finish on his dressage score of 28.7 penalties, with last-to-go Jung having a fence down on Fischerrocana FST.

It was the fourth time that Townend has won an elite four-star event, collecting just over £90,000 for his efforts, and he is the fourth British rider to claim victory at Kentucky after Funnell, William Fox-Pitt and Mary King.

“He (Cooley Master Class) came right at the end of a period where I had sold a lot of my good horses to set my life up and buy a property,” he added.

“He came right at the right time, and when I sat on him, I said ‘one way or another, we’re finding a way to keep this one’.

“I was lucky to sell to him to someone who let me keep the ride, and he has never really let us down.

“He had a couple of niggles injury-wise at certain stages in his career. At times we thought ‘will he ever come through with what he can really do?’ but these last two seasons he toughened up and we learnt more about him and how to manage him.

“He has always been cheeky and talented, and I am very pleased for him to come through with it.”