Oliver Townend's Ballaghmor Class Bids Farewell with a Final Lap of Honor at Burghley

British eventing rider Oliver Townend isn’t exactly known for being the emotional type. But when he galloped into the Burghley show jumping arena for the last time on Sunday with Ballaghmor Class, “Thomas,” and the spectators gave this 19-year-old, fit, and cheerful horse a standing ovation, he had tears in his eyes.

‘s

Success Story

: It’s no wonder that this Irish gray is the horse that has shaped Townend’s career like no other, with two victories at Bughley and one each in Kentucky and Maryland. In addition, they won team gold at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo and were part of Pratoni del Vivaro’s World Championship team in 2022.

Their international career spanned twelve years, from their first CCI1* event to twelve five-star competitions (some of which were still held under the old CCI4* format). As mentioned, the pair claimed victory at five-star events four times. They finished in the top ten six more times, and in the top three four times. At Badminton alone, they placed second twice and fifth twice.

When Dreams Come True

After Oliver Townend had unsaddled Ballghmor Class and was busy with his gift basket, filled to the brim with carrots and apples, the host asked Townend if he could put into words what “Thomas” meant to him. His response: “No…” But then he finally found the words he’d probably been preparing. He thanked all those who had supported and accompanied him and the rugged gray with the iron will throughout their career together.

Then he tried again to answer the host’s question: “He was …” But his voice failed him once more. Another try: “Children have dreams. And this horse made mine come true.” It’s that simple.

First Time at Burghley

With Ballaghmor Class’s farewell at Burghley, things have come full circle. It was here, nine years earlier, that he made his five-star—or, as it was known at the time, four-star—debut. He was ten years old at the time. In a conversation with the Burghley team, Townend looked back on that first time.

The idea to ride his young horse—who was still just a young horse back then—in his first five-star competition in the fall of 2017, at Burghley of all places, had come to him in the spring at Bramham Market. “I don’t know exactly what triggered it back then, but after the dressage, I had a feeling that we’d be heading to Burghley that year. He gave me the feeling during the dressage that we could definitely hold our own, and it had become clear to me that cross-country was his greatest strength.”

And so it came to pass. Burghley was to be the first major competitive challenge for Ballaghmor Class. “Inside, I was very optimistic. I felt like I was guarding a secret. It was strange.” Especially since Ballaghmor Class’s dressage was still far from polished. The flying changes weren’t quite solid yet—and the test requires four of them. “I thought, if we can pull this off, we can win this thing.” The catch: “I remember practicing flying changes while I was still in the warm-up ring.”

But in any case, after the dressage, the two of them were in sixth place, which put them in a promising position. “I thought that if we were among the top six after the dressage, we had a shot at winning.” And when that actually happened, my next thought was, “Here we go.”

Cross-Country Day

Then it was finally here—the day of days. The day of my first five-star cross-country event. And right off the bat, Burghley. Townend recalls: “I let him warm up a bit on the course first. He has an incredible canter. So I made sure not to start out too fast. For the most part, he was easy to control, and I felt my way slowly through the first part of the course.”

Among the experts providing live commentary on the ride was Andrew Nicholson. His co-commentators asked him if he thought Townend and his new horse would make the cut. His answer: “Realistically speaking: no!” But Nicholson would come to revise that opinion more and more over the next few minutes.

Townend: “About halfway through the race, I really opened the throttle, and his reaction was something I’d probably never experienced before. It was like the difference between driving a normal, nice car and a Formula 1 car. The length of his gallop—everything blurred into a veritable whirlwind.” It was one of those “wow moments.” “I was completely in shock,” said Townend.

In the end, they were one second over the time limit. “But that was probably my fault, because I tried not to get carried away,” said Townend. Because once he got into his stride, he faced a new problem. “As soon as I let him go once on the gallop section, I had to keep slowing him down on the way back—always that ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’ If you have to do that at the jumps in Burghley, you definitely have something with real power under you.”

The Jumping

When the

jumping

began, Townend and Ballaghmor Class were in the lead. But the field was so tightly packed that one thing was clear: there was no room for error. The pressure eased slightly when Gemma Stevens, the 2026 Burghley champion—who was still riding the fantastic thoroughbred Arctic Soul at the time—had a knockdown. Now Townend could afford one knockdown and even a time penalty. He ended up with five penalty points. But no one could take the victory away from Ballaghmor Class in his first CCI5*-L.

Townend: “I said to Ian Stark back then: ‘No matter what happens today—I think this is one of the best horses I’ve ever had.’” And that was saying something—after all, Townend tackled his first five-star—or, as it was called back then, four-star—course in 2005 at the age of 23. It was Badminton, and he finished twelfth that year; the following year, riding a different horse—Flint Curtis, with whom he also competed at the World Championships in Aachen—he placed third.

Townend: “It had been a long time since my last five-star victory. I was lucky enough to win nine. But the first two came very early in my career, and at some point I asked myself, ‘Is that it?’ And then suddenly it happened again—and at one of my favorite tournaments, the most difficult five-star tournament in the world. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a round on replay as many times as I have this one.”

Retirement in the Meadow

For the 19-year-old Ballaghmor Class, the end of his racing career is just the beginning of what will hopefully be a long and happy retirement. He will spend his retirement at Oliver Townend’s Gadlas Farm in Shropshire. Take care, Thomas!