AN OLYMPIC gold medalist based near Swindon has apologised after a video emerged of him hitting a horse with a branch.

A clip shared on TikTok appears to show Sir Mark Todd striking the animal several times on its hindquarters during a cross-country schooling session to help a rider who was struggling to get the horse into the water jump.

The British Horseracing Authority is investigating the incident.

A spokesperson said: “The footage seen this weekend of Sir Mark Todd hitting a horse with a branch has rightly caused anger and upset within the equestrian community and beyond.

“His behaviour, for which he has apologised, fell a long way short of the standards of care we expect of licensed individuals and that we know is provided to the overwhelming majority of horses in training in Britain every day.

“The BHA is looking into the incident.”

Sir Mark was a highly successful three-day eventer before he took out his training licence. He won two Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1988 for New Zealand and earned a knighthood in 2013 for his equestrian achievements.

His most prominent horse is training is King Edward VII Stakes runner-up Tasman Bay. He has a yard at Badgerstown, which is set on the edge of the Marlborough Downs.

He said in a statement: “I wholeheartedly apologise to the horse and all involved for my actions in this video clip.

“One of the main things I preach is about establishing a mutual respect between horse and rider and that patience and kindness is the best way to get results.

“I believe this is one of the main attributes along with a great empathy with animals that has enabled me to have a long and successful career in eventing.

“I am very disappointed in myself that I did not adhere to that in this case.”

Sir Mark can lay claim to an impressive haul of victories, including two individual gold medals from the Olympic Games, four Badminton titles, five Burghley crowns and more.

In total, he has competed at seven Olympic Games for New Zealand –including two where he rode in both showjumping and eventing – and a run of World Equestrian Games where he was on two gold medal-winning teams.

He retired in 2019 at the age of 63.