Mark Todd and I hail from opposite sides of the world but we both grew up dreaming of owning a pony and idolising the heroes of our era such as Pat Smythe, David Broome and Marion Coakes. From the first few paragraphs of his latest autobiography “Second Chance”, I was immediately drawn in to the world of one of today’s greatest horsemen.
Mark has obviously gone on to be an equestrian hero in his own right; needless to say I have not. I do however own a company involved in publishing, report on the sport of eventing and am an avid reader so I am a bit of a tough cookie when it comes to reviewing books about equestrian sport. Often I find them interesting but badly put together or just lacking editorial guidance. Sometimes they are just boring. This is not the case with “Second Chance”
I now feel as if I know Mark well (top score there, as this is the purpose of an autobiography) and, even better, I really like him. The combination of New Zealand laid back humour with British self-deprecation makes him irresistible although I have a sneaking suspicion that Kate Green’s masterly editing and writing may have been influential in bringing out these natural characteristics for the reader.
Now if you think I am being a bit besotted about Mark, wait till you hear what I think about Kate Green. Most eventing fans would be impressed by meeting Mark Todd in person but one of my highlights at Burghley last year was meeting Kate Green in the press tent. She even served me a glass of wine as I was slaving away getting a report ready. According to the book blurb “Kate Green, who worked with Mark Todd on this book, has been closely involved with the sport for more than twenty years”
Anyway, I digress. This is meant to be a book review, not homage to Kate Green. So, what did I think? I loved it and read it all in one evening like gulping down a huge glass of wine. Yum.
I knew quite a lot of the story of Mark’s life, having read his first autobiography and having been around eventing riders for a few years now in Australia. But there were still some snippets I didn’t know at all and loved finding out about.
For example, did you know that.... Mark Todd’s first serious girlfriend was Ginny Holgate? (Leng to you young things)..... Erik Duvander (now chef d’équipe for New Zealand) was Mark’s working pupil?..... Mark and his big mate Ian Starke ended up in prison together?... .. Irresistible.
I also loved that a man who is in the ‘business’ of eventing openly admits his affection for his special horses. The most special of course was Charisma and Mark was frantic when the horse was nearly taken from him, saying “The thought that I might have lost him was – and still is – unbearable. He was far more than just another event horse to me”. When Charisma died at home in 2002, Mark admits to being ‘in floods of tears’
The book starts at the beginning of Mark’s life (yes, I know that may seem obvious but due to the first autobiography, I wondered if this book would focus only on his life after that) and takes us right through to now. The only part which slowed slightly for me was the section concerning his racing breeding time in New Zealand after giving up eventing but this is a fairly short section although in fact it covers several years
I wonder if maybe the ‘indiscretion’ that appeared in the tabloids and caused so much grief for Mark in could also have been explained a little more? Probably very difficult but someone not knowing the story may be left wondering what it is all about and it did have a huge impact on his career at that time.
However, that said, I really cannot find other fault with this book (and only one typo that I could find!)
It is fascinating reading for anyone interested in eventing but it is also far more than that. It captures the essence of Mark Todd and makes me even more fascinated by the man who, throughout the course of the book, if you’ll pardon the pun, exudes charisma
You may not get the chance to meet him in person so buy the book and enjoy the next best thing
Review by Debbie Higgs
Mark Todd "Second Chance" The Autobiography is $35 and is available at all good bookstores
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