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Olympic team gold medallist retires from competition after stellar career


  • Mr Medicott, who evented at the top level with three different riders, has been retired from competition.

    The 19-year-old was honoured with an official ceremony at the event at Rebecca Farm, Montana, last Sunday (22 July), a fitting finish as hosts the Broussards were his original owners in the US and are part of his current ownership syndicate.

    Mr Medicott, known as Cave, has spent his final years in competition enjoying lower level eventing with Phillip Dutton’s daughter Olivia, 16, and the pair won a young rider team gold medal over the weekend.

    The chestnut is by Cruising, out of a mare by Edmund Burke, best known as the sire of double Badminton winner Supreme Rock.

    The Irish sport horse started his international career in Germany with Frank Ostholt. The pair won Saumur CCI3* in 2010 and their other strong results included second in the CCI3* at Boekelo in 2007, third in the crack CIC3* at Aachen in 2008 and third at Pau CCI4* in 2008. They represented the US twice at championships, the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2010 World Equestrian Games, winning team gold at the Olympics.

    Mr Medicott was sold to the US as a potential horse for the 2012 London Olympics with Karen O’Connor and after a fourth-place finish at Kentucky CCI4* that spring and a win at Bromont CIC3*, he was selected for the Games. The pair finished ninth and best of the US team. 

    Karen suffered a career-ending injury in a fall from another horse that autumn and after a couple of runs with Marilyn Little, Mr Medicott went to Phillip Dutton. The pair were fourth at Pau 2013, before injury interrupted Mr Medicott’s career — he was third after cross-country at Kentucky in 2014, but had to be withdrawn as he had aggravated an old tendon injury. After just one international event in 2015 and none in 2016, Mr Medicott came back to claim fourth at Kentucky 2017.

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    Olivia took over the ride last summer. The pair tackled national events in 2017 and finished third in the Fair Hill CIC* in April this year and completed Jersey Fresh CIC2* in May.

    In all, Mr Medicott started 50 international competitions, finishing in the top 10 at 31 of them. He ran at four-star nine times under three different riders, completing in the top 25 on every occasion except when he was injured at Kentucky in 2014.

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