"Oliver should be released from hospital in the next hour and the indications are that he has been cleared to ride [ODT Master Rose] tomorrow subject to how he feels,” said Will Connell, world class performance director for the British Equestrian Federation.

"We have a physio with us and Oliver will be assessed in the morning.  

"He's tough and a competitive rider and he has to bounce back from this."

Townend, seeking to become only the second rider in history to compete the Rolex Grand Slam, fell from his horse Ashdale Cruise Master at the 20th fence of the cross-country course.

As the combination jumped a four-foot rail, the horse appeared to slip and the 26-year-old Yorhshireman fell off over the front, striking his head.

Townend was treated by paramedics at the scene, and then transferred to helicopter to the University of Kentucky Hospital.

Connell said that Townend's initial prognosis appeared to be good. Ashdale, who has been with Townend for just three months, was unharmed in the fall.

Townend, who endured a 51-hour jouney involving a taxi ride over the Pyrenees and  chartered flight to Disneyland, Miami from Madrid, was seeking to earn a £233,000 ($358,000) jackpot for winning consecutive four-star events - Badminton, Burghley and Kentucky in his case.

He stood in sixth place with Ashdale after the first day’s dressage.

Townend’s other horse, ODT Master Rose, is well-placed in seventh ahead of tomorrow's show jumping finale, and his compatriot William Fox-Pitt, who retained his overall lead on Cool Mountain, speculated whether Townend might return to the venue for the final day’s competition despite his shocking fall.

"The good news is he has regained consciousness and is cursing and swearing, so hopefully this means he is okay, much to the relief of us all here," said Fox-Pitt, of his Great Britain team-mate.

"Knowing Ollie, he could well be back to ride ODT Master Rose in the show jumping tomorrow as he is lying well up there."

Two other riders fell at the same fence - called The Hollow - but both Kristi Nunnink and Tara Ziegler were able to walk away.

"Oliver is at the hospital.

"He is conscious and talking, which was the case when he left the site,"  Connell said in the aftermath of the fall.

"The initial prognosis is good and encouraging.

"All the emergency services here were fantastic - they looked after Oliver and the horse very well.

"Everything was done superbly, and he is now being assessed."

Shropshire-based Townend enjoyed sustained success in 2009, taking the Badminton and Burghley titles, while also being crowned HSBC Classics champion and winning a team gold medal with Great Britain at the European Championships in Fontainebleau, France.

The Grand Slam was next on his target list, a feat only achieved once before , by Townend's fellow Briton Pippa Funnell in 2003.

Townend, meanwhile, is due to defend his Badminton crown, starting next Friday (April 30).

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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