Townend grew up in
Scapegoat Hill, near
Huddersfield in
West Yorkshire. He won the junior newcomers
showjumping at the Horse of the Year Show with Cool Mule at age 11, rode in the pony
European Eventing Championships at age 13, and left school at 16 to pursue a career in riding and selling horses. His father was an event rider and his mother was a side-saddle rider. In 2010, Townend suffered a rotational fall at the
Rolex Kentucky Three Day in
Lexington, Kentucky, and was crushed by his horse. He broke his collarbone, shoulder bones, sternum, and four ribs, but credited his
airbag vest with minimizing his injuries. Townend currently lives in
Ellesmere, Shropshire. He was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the
2022 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism.
Whip use Townend has received several warnings for excessive whip use during competitions and for riding fatigued horses. He received warnings for "abuse of the horse" in 2014, and for "abuse of the horse and wrong use of the whip" at
Floors Castle in 2017. In 2018, he received an official warning for “abuse of horse/excessive use of the whip” at the
Badminton Horse Trials. He subsequently lost two sponsors and apologized. He received further warnings for whip use at the
Blair Castle International Horse Trials in 2018 and at an indoor horse trial competition in Stockholm in 2022, and was disciplined by the
FEI for dangerous riding at
Badminton Horse Trials in 2023. ==Winning International Championships==