Andrew Nicholson (equestrian)

Andrew Nicholson (equestrian)

For the Canadian basketball player with the same name see Andrew Nicholson (basketball)

Andrew Nicholson (born 1 August 1961 in Te Awamutu) is a New Zealand horseman who has competed at seven Olympic Games.

Nicholson's greatest success at international level has been in Three-Day Event Teams. He won a gold medal at the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, a silver at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and a Bronze at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He is infamous for his ride on Spinning Rhombus at Barcelona. With the New Zealand team having nine rails in hand to win the Gold medal his horse knocked down nine rails to drop New Zealand to second behind arch-rivals Australia. Nicholson competed at the 2010 WEG (world equestrian games) and received a bronze medal.

Olympic record:

• 1984: Individual 28th on Kahlua; Team 6th
• 1992: Individual 16th on Spinning Rhombus; Team Silver
• 1996: Individual retired on Buckley Province; Team (on Jagermeister II) Bronze
• 2000: Selected but did not compete as horses were not fit
• 2004: Individual 61st; Team 5th
• 2008: Individual, eliminated in cross-country; Team 5th
• 2012: Individual, 4th; Team 3rd

Nicholson and Mark Todd were the first New Zealanders to compete at six Olympic Games.

Nicholson's best individual results have been at Burghley which he has won three times; on Buckley Province in 1995, on Mr Smiffy in 2000, and on Avebury in 2012.