March 18, 2016 
All is well within the world of eventing once again now that Andrew Nicholson is back in the game. The six-time Olympian from New Zealand has been on the shelf since suffering a severe neck injury last August while competing in the cross-country phase of the British Festival of Eventing (his horse, Cillnabradden Evo, was uninjured).
Nicholson, 54, has entered six horses in the open novice and open intermediate classes at Aldon this weekend, reports Horse and Hound.
“I have a plan to do the first couple of events to make sure I remember what to do and make sure I feel comfortable doing it well,” he said.
Should all indeed go well, Nicholson has his sights set on taking another run at Badminton CCI4* in May, with the hope of securing a spot in the Rio Olympics.
It’s an ambitious plan for an ambitious man. Nicholson underwent an 8-hour spinal surgery last August to repair injuries that nearly left him paralyzed. It’s difficult to imagine a 4* weekend without the presence of Nicholson, as well as Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt, who himself is battling back from a frightening head injury. Fortunately, both men appear to be well on their way back atop the sport of eventing.
