Robert Blyth Tait (born 10 May 1961) is a New Zealand

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

. Tait has competed at four

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

and has won four medals, one of only six New Zealanders to do so.

Career

Tait's first success at international level was at the 1990

World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive S ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, when he won Gold in both the individual and team events riding Messiah. At the 1992 Olympics in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, he won Bronze in the individual event after teammate Vicky Latta knocked down a rail in the showjumping, and Silver in the team event with Latta and Andrew Nicholson ( Mark Todd was also in the team but was not awarded a medal as he did not finish the event). At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, he won Gold in the individual and Bronze in the Team event. Tait repeated his World Championships double Gold effort at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1998 riding

Ready Teddy "Ready Teddy" is a song written by John Marascalco and Robert Blackwell, and first made popular by Little Richard in 1956. Little Richard sang and played piano on the recording, backed by a band consisting of Lee Allen (tenor saxophone), Alvi ...

. He was flag-bearer for the New Zealand team at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, but he was eliminated in both the individual and team events. Tait completed his competitive Olympic career with a fifth in the team event at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. He was the eventing manager for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. In the

1993 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1993 Queen's Birthday honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's b ...

, Tait was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to equestrian sport. In 2019, he was an inaugural inductee into the Equestrian Sports New Zealand Hall of Fame.

Olympic record

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

: individual bronze; team silver (both on ''Messiah'') *

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

: individual gold (on ''Ready Teddy''); team bronze (on ''Chesterfield'') *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

: individual did not finish (on ''Welton Envoy''); team did not finish (on ''Ready Teddy'') *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

: individual 18th; team 5th (both on ''Ready Teddy'')

Personal life

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tait, Blyth 1961 births Living people New Zealand event riders New Zealand gay sportsmen Olympic bronze medalists for New Zealand Olympic equestrians for New Zealand New Zealand male equestrians Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand Olympic medalists in equestrian Olympic silver medalists for New Zealand Equestrians at the 1992 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1996 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2000 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Whangārei LGBTQ equestrians Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics 21st-century New Zealand LGBTQ people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen