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Live sport on SN this weekendBlyth Tait's spare horse that became Olympic gold
Sport Nation • August 8th, 2026 10:00 am
Blyth Tait of New Zealand. Equestrian, Atlanta Olympic Games, 1996 | Photo: Andrew Cornaga/photosport.co.nz
Blyth Tait did not grow up destined for equestrian greatness.
The New Zealand eventing legend only found horses after his family moved to a 10-acre block in Whangārei, where he shared a pony with his sisters, before beginning to ride competitively.
But by 1992, Tait was at his first Olympic Games in Barcelona riding Messiah, where he proved he belonged on the world stage, taking bronze.
And four years later in Atlanta, the gold belonged to him.
Tait’s gold medal ride in 1996 came aboard Ready Teddy, an eight-year-old horse who had not even been his first choice, instead he was a backup.
Blyth Tait (NZL) celebrates winning Gold in the Individual Eventing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics | Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.co.nz
Speaking with Sport Nation's Millsy & Guy, Blyth recalled “I took Ready Teddy just as a spare."
“He was only young, he was eight years old, and he’d gone well, but he was very green and inexperienced.”
Ready Teddy had tagged along to a final qualifier simply because Tait was making the long trip anyway, ending up winning, to which the selector asked if he would prefer to ride Ready Teddy if he was to be named in the reserves.
Still, Tait did not expect to ride him at the Olympics. He planned to take another horse, Aspiring, to Burghley in the UK, while Ready Teddy would likely travel to Atlanta as a reserve and return home for a break.
Then fate intervened.
Mark Todd’s horse pulled a shoulder muscle after a final gallop and was ruled out and suddenly, Tait and Ready Teddy were in.
“I didn’t actually really expect to be on,” Tait said. “Once you get the opportunity, you don’t let it slip by.”
"I thought oh well have to put the fact that he's a little inexperienced behind me and just know that he was a talented horse, but he probably should have had another year of training and preparation.
However, he said, "you get your opportunity, so you take it," and that's exactly what he did.
Listen to the full story of Blyth Tait's career below:
