So Far, So Good - Mark Todd - The Autobiography

by Mark Todd

Mark Todd's own account of his amazingly successful career, tells of the early Pony Club days in New Zealand, through showjumping, to burst on to the eventingscene and win his first of three Badminton titles in 1980, and going on to win two consecutive Olympic golds on his now legendary horse, Charisma. 'Toddy' recalls the lows as well as the highs - the death of his horse in front of millions in 1992, which deprived him of a ride for the Barcelona Olympics; victory at Burghley in 1996 snatched from his grasp at the last moment - as well as his family life with fellow-rider wife, Carolyn, and their two children, with characteristic humour and frankness. He also includes an invaluable selection of his personal tips and techniques for success.

Genres: Horses, Nonfiction

261 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Geraldine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covers the life of one of (actually the greatest!) New Zealand three day event rider. From his early days of riding ponies to the other end of the spectrum, winning at Badminton, which is the event all cross country riders want to win and then his two Olympic gold medals riding his wonderful horse Charisma. An excellent book, very readable with plenty of great photos depicting the highs and lows of Mark's career. I can highly recommend this book.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 47. I’ve read it before, but after last week I thought I’d revisit it. Always entertaining 🐎🤓📚 #tsreadinglist2019 #tsrecommendations

[Jordan C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

December Book Report, So Far, So Good, By Mark Todd

In the autobiography, So Far, So Good, author Mark Todd writes about his rise to success in the sport of Eventing. Starting out as a farmer in New Zealand, Mark Todd did Pony Club with a rotten pony, but found Charisma when he was a young adult. Charisma and Mark Todd competed very successfully and won the Olympics two times together. Along the way, Mark meets his wife, Carolyn, and has two children. Mark trains and competes many horses at the biggest events in the world.

I believe that the theme of this book is to never stop dreaming and to work hard. Mark Todd started out as a farmer in the countryside of New Zealand, but works hard and climbs to the top of Eventing. Working hard at training his horses and improving his riding, Mark Todd is one of the best riders in the world. Carolyn helps support and keep Mark aiming and achieving more. Mark Todd shows perseverance while pushing himself to be the best that he can be, and in the end, it definitely paid off.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this book reminds you why celebrities and athletes hire ghost writers when they decide to write a memoir. Mark Todd just isn't a particular good writer; he's an extraordinarily good rider. My riding teacher believes that being fit and active is an important part of riding and for someone like me who can only ride once or twice a week, it must be true. But Mark Todd smokes and parties an awful lot (until he had kids anyway) and still wins gold medals, so I guess just the horse needs to be fit if the rider rides constantly. I'm not afraid of much when I ride but I've never done cross-country and I would be afraid. Too many injuries and deaths both to horses and to riders. Mark Todd has had a really interesting life but he's not a terribly interesting writer. Only a NZ book would be full of "nippy" horses and "gutted" riders and various other coloquialisms!

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I thought he wrote terribly, but I actually now appreciate the way he writes so simply and factually. It makes everything so much easier to follow, I can imagine it would be much more difficult had he written in any other style. I loved reading this book, it has fueled my love of eventing and all things horsey.