Who for you is the best rider in the world ?

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BBH

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Am just interested cos on another forum all the answers were British riders and am curious to know if thats because they genuinely believe the Brits are tops or just don't know much about foreign riders.
 
For me it is Mark Todd. How many other riders have competed in more than one equestrian discipline at Olympic level? He won Badminton on a catch ride, he took Charisma to the top levels of dressage as well as eventing. He is the comensurate horseman IMO.
 
I think plenty of people are good riders like Marcus Eihning, the Whitakers etc.

For me, I like the way William Fox Pitt rides - he seems to form a bond with his horses really easily and is such a quiet yet effective rider.
 
Ditto especailly as MMB gets a tune ( well a symphony if we're honest ) out of a difficult horse other top riders have turned down.
 
Beat Mandli
Ruby Walsh
Mark Todd

Not sure on the dressage! Far too difficult to name just one for all disciplines!
 
Rodrigo Pessoa - have loved watching him ride since he first appeared on the international scene (and absolutely did not have a huge crush on him when I was 16
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I think it has to be an eventer as they have the all round skills and would probably agree with Mark Todd as he had also competed in pure SJ and dressage at a very high level, and in his "retirement" trained a load of winning racehorses back in NZ (probably would have ridden them too if he was smaller!). I doubt anybody else can have done so much in 4 different discilplines.

Heinrich Romeke would have to be the best amateur - a dentist with just the one horse and he's a double Olympic Gold Medallist!
 
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For me it is Mark Todd. How many other riders have competed in more than one equestrian discipline at Olympic level? He won Badminton on a catch ride, he took Charisma to the top levels of dressage as well as eventing. He is the comensurate horseman IMO.

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Did he not train race horses in his 'retirement' from eventing?
 
Yes he is amazing. I sometimes think it would be easier for our home grown stars to shine brighter on the international circuit with more / better horsepower, you can really only enhance what natural ability a horse already has and if that plateau's too early where do you go from then.
 
Toddy, without a doubt. he's done Grand Prix SJing (which not many eventers have), Charisma's test when he won his 2nd Olympic gold was good enough to have medalled in pure dressage, it was said. excellent on catch rides (when they were allowed!) and on ones he rode for ages.
second to him, of the eventers - Ingrid Klimke.
of competitive dr riders, i'd toss up between Isabell and Ulla, probably.
SJers, i don't think i've ever seen anyone make it look as easy as David Broome and Eddie Macken did, otherwise John Whitaker and Peter Charles.
 
Mark Todd and John Whittaker

I just feel like the horse is in 'safe hands' when they are riding them!
 
John whittaker and william fox pitt, going to be patriotic and stick to two brits that are certainly good conpitition for this title throughout the world.

Born naturals both of them ( as is toddy cept he's nz )
 
I'd have to say Mark Todd as well. What about when he lost a stirrup early on at Badminton (stirrup leather came off completely), so he rode the rest of the round with 1, and went clear!
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I was working at the yard one morning when there was an unaffiliated SJ competition going on. as I walked past the warmup, my eye was caught by a rider and I remember thinking distinctly "bloody hell, the pony club have upped their standards". (this was early in the morning when the jumps were about 2' in the arena)

I was too busy to stand and stare but even just out of the corner of my eye there was something about the way this rider was moving with the horse that really grabbed me.

Later on I found out that Mark King had bought her daughter up for the day to qualify for Wales and the West and the rider i'd seen was her giving a youngster a quiet outing in the warm up.

I wish I'd realised, chucked work for 10mins and watched. As it is, I can still remember in that 5 sec glance, just how DIFFERENT she looked on a horse to anyone I'd ever seen ride. She was in total harmony with the youngster - amazing - and to be able to see that so immediately really said to me that she was something special on a horse.

Since then she has always been one of my favourite riders.
 
I too am a massive Mary King fan. Im one of these that thinks b**lcks to style, Id rather be effective! And whilst MK is stylish in her own way, she always seems to go with and not interefere with the horse, even if its not pretty. Als9 she always looks like she is having the time of her life!

However, for me, it's ultimately Billy Twomey. I could watch him all day. He never seems to move a muscle, and is so, so quiet. I remeber one round in particular, think it was HOYS on Winny Jackson - he looked like he was born on that horse.
 
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