Oliver Townend, the son of a Huddersfield milkman, delivered yet more Gold Top for Britain at the Olympics yesterday.
The world No.1 event rider teamed up with Laura Collett and Tom McEwen to win Britain’s first gold medal for 49 years in what used to be known as three-day eventing.
It was Team GB's 11th of these Tokyo Games and Townend warned: “We’re on the plane in the morning and I don’t think we’ll be celebrating with a cup of tea and a biscuit!”
McEwen went on to take Silver in the individual competition behind Germany’s Julia Krajewski, the first ever female winner.
It means Britain have now won medals in all four equestrian events, following the success of Charlotte Dujardin and pals in dressage.
But this is their first gold and it was an emotional moment for Townend and Collett who each cheated death earlier in their careers.
Townend, 38, was airlifted to hospital in 2010 with a broken left shoulder, fractured collarbone, sternum and four ribs after his horse rolled on top of him.
He only lived to tell the tale because he was wearing an Air Jacket which worked like a car airbag in cushioning him from the worst of the impact.
Three years later Collett came even closer to losing her life after fall which left her in a coma for six days.
She had to be resuscitated five times and given an emergency tracheotomy after suffering a punctured lung, lacerated liver and damage to her kidneys.
She also lost much of her vision in one eye when a fragment of her shoulder bone detached, travelled through her bloodstream and damaged the optic nerve.
“To be honest I just feel like someone’s going to wake me up and this is all going have been one big dream," she said.
"I know I am lucky just to be alive, let alone doing the job I love and winning an Olympic medal."
Collett, 31, added: “It’s been a long road with a lot of ups and downs along the way. I was lucky to survive and now I’m lucky to win a gold medal. But a moment like this makes every bad day worth it."
The British trio finished with a record score of 86.30 penalties - 13.90 clear of Australia - after a dominant campaign across dressage, cross country and show jumping.
It ended years of near misses, with Team GB having come second in Los Angeles, Seoul, Sydney, Athens and London.
Townend plans to take his medal straight home to show dad Alan who funded his own jumping career with a milk round that he would start at 1.45am.
He will tell him how McEwen, 30, went clear aboard Toledo De Kerser and Collett had four faults on London 52, before he brought home the prize, with just one bar down, riding Ballaghmor Class.
McEwan, who rents stable at Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire from Princess Anne, narrowly missed out on becoming the first British rider to win double gold since Richard Meade at Munich in 1972
Asked if the Princess Royal was likely to now put up his rent, he laughed: “Hopefully not!”
