Timothy Mark Stockdale (12 August 1964 – 14 November 2018) was an English
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 ...
who competed in
show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...
.
Early life
Stockdale grew up in
Retford
Retford (), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal. Retford is located east of Sheffield, west of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Linco ...
in north
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
. He attended the Sir Frederick Milner Secondary Modern School (later
Retford Oaks Academy
Retford Oaks Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in the market town of Retford, Nottinghamshire, England, situated in the district of Bassetlaw.
Academic performance
The school has improved from a poor startin ...
).
Career
Stockdale competed in international competitions and rode several horses, owned by him and others. He produced a three-part training video titled ''Successful Showjumping With Tim Stockdale''.
Stockdale had a show jumping career on several different horses. In 2000, he and Traxdata Winston Bridget placed sixth in the London Olympia CSIW Grand Prix. In 2002, he represented Great Britain at the
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 ...
in
Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Located in southwestern Iberia, it lies on the Campi� ...
, Spain with Fresh Direct Parcival. 2006 saw Stockdale narrowly miss out on the Olympia Grand Prix title to Eugenie Angot, coming second on Fresh Direct Corlato, a mare with whom greater things would come. In 2007, Stockdale won the Nantes Grand Prix and Bordeaux Grand Prix with Corlato on consecutive weekends, and placed fifth in the CN International "Million Dollar" Grand Prix.
Stockdale was set on getting to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, shown by his decision not to take his qualified place at the FEI World Cup Finals in Gothenburg. His performances at the Samsung Super League Nations' Cup competitions in Rome and
St. Gallen were enough to cement him a place on the 2008 squad; he had produced his horse from a four-year-old. Despite the British team finishing 6th, Stockdale qualified for the individual final, producing a clear in the first round, one of nine riders to do so. He could not repeat his performance in the second round and finished best of the British in 16th place.
Stockdale completed his championship appearance hat-trick by representing Great Britain at the 2009 European Championships at Windsor Park with Fresh Direct Corlato after helping the British team to second place in the Dublin
CSIO***** Nations' Cup. The loss of his top horse, Corlato, due to an injury sustained at Spruce Meadows in 2009, coincided with the rise of the ISH gelding Fresh Direct Kalico Bay to form. Stockdale and Kalico Bay won three international grands prix the following year, including the King George V Gold Cup at Hickstead, which served as retribution after the last fence in the jump off denied Stockdale the title with Corlato in 2009. This form continued on British soil with Kalico Bay placing in both the Horse of the Year Show and Olympia grands prix.
2011 brought Nations' Cup appearances at St. Gallen and
Falsterbo
Falsterbo (, outdatedly ) is a town located at the south-western tip of Sweden in Vellinge Municipality in Skåne. Falsterbo is situated in the southern part of the Falsterbo peninsula. It is part of Skanör med Falsterbo, one of Sweden's histori ...
for Stockdale, as well as a near-defence of his King George V title, However, on 17 October, while trying a young horse at a small farm in rural Wales, Stockdale sustained fractures to three vertebrae in his neck in a fall. Four months after his accident, he was back riding, which was considered impossible. Once back in the saddle, he embarked upon a course to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London, described as "one of the most remarkable comebacks by a British athlete in Olympic history." At the CSIO***** Nations' Cup of St. Gallen, he and Fresh Direct Kalico Bay produced one of three double clears to lead Great Britain to second place, and take second place in the Longines Grand Prix of St. Gallen. At the Nations' Cup of Rotterdam, the pair did not reproduce their form and, though they were short-listed for the British squad, they did not make the final team.
Stockdale was also a trainer in show jumping, having taught celebrities to show jump in the Sport Relief series ''
Only Fools on Horses'' aired in 2006.
Stockdale was banned from Olympic competition in July 2002 when his horse's urine tested positive for a prohibited sedative. However, he was reinstated in 2004 when the
British Olympic Association
The British Olympic Association (BOA; ) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It represents the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), but also incorporate represen ...
deemed his offence minor, also taking into account that it did not meet the chief intent of the lifetime ban to cover offences involving drugs "of a performance-enhancing nature." This made him eligible to compete at the
2004 Athens 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 ...
, although he did not make the team.
Personal life
He lived in
Roade
Roade is a village in Northamptonshire, England. Currently in West Northamptonshire, before local government changes in 2021 it was represented by South Northamptonshire District Council, falling within the two-member Blisworth and Roade ward ...
, then in
South Northamptonshire
South Northamptonshire was a local government district in Northamptonshire, England, from 1974 to 2021. Its council was based in the town of Towcester, first established as a settlement in Roman Britain. The population of the Local Authority ...
. His son
Joe Stockdale is also a show jumper.
Death
Stockdale died on 14 November 2018 at the age of 54 after a short illness, suffering from stomach cancer.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockdale, Tim
1964 births
2018 deaths
English identical twins
British male equestrians
British show jumping riders
Deaths from stomach cancer in England
English male equestrians
Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Identical twin males
Olympic equestrians for Great Britain
People from Northamptonshire
Sportspeople from Retford
Sportspeople from Worksop
Place of death missing
20th-century English sportsmen