Richard Meade, who has died aged 76, was Britain’s most successful Olympic rider, winning three gold medals in three-day eventing during a golden age for equestrian sport. He made his Olympic debut in Tokyo in 1964, finishing best of the British, in eighth place individually, riding Barberry. He did not have to wait long for his first taste of Olympic success.
Four years later, in Mexico City, Meade rode the former point-to-pointer Cornishman V to produce a heroic clear cross-country round in difficult conditions, helping Britain secure team gold in three-day eventing. That year he finished just out of the individual medals – something he would more than redress four years later when winning both team and individual gold with the eight-year-old Laurieston at the Munich Games.
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