Another Whitaker whitewash with King George triumph

Donald Whitaker became the fourth member of his famous family to lift the iconic Agria King George V Gold Cup today at Hickstead, after heading an all-British podium.

Riding the grey mare Millfield Colette, Donald delivered a blisteringly-quick jump-off round to win the same title that cousin Robert Whitaker had won 12 months earlier. Once again Hickstead proved happy hunting ground for the Whitaker family dynasty, with John, 68, being part of the winning team in the Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain two days earlier.

John had been one of 10 riders to jump clear in the first round of today's historic Grand Prix, but his hopes of landing a fourth King George were dashed in the jump-off when he knocked the first part of the combination at fence three. Brazil’s Luciana Lossio and Lady Louise Jmen then delivered the first of the clear rounds, setting a very fast pace of 46.76sec.

Next into Hickstead’s International Arena was the reigning Olympic champion Ben Maher, who already has a King George title under his belt having won in 2013 with Tripple X II. The Herts-based rider took the tightest of lines to shave half a second of Luciana’s time, guaranteeing a British win.

But Donald’s 11-year-old mare had looked fast in the first round, and in the jump-off Donald really let loose with a relentless pace throughout. They crossed the finish in 46.12sec, just 0.1 of a second quicker than Ben. Maher’s Nations Cup team mate Tim Gredley came in last in the jump-off with his Nations Cup ride Medoc Du Toxandria, and he looked like he was going to win only to take a pull before the last that left him fractionally behind Donald and Ben on 46.26sec.

"I’ve been coming to this show since I was eight years old, so it means the absolute world to me, especially for my first five-star win to be home at Hickstead - it’s my favourite show in the world," said Donald, 32, who grew up in Yorkshire but now lives in Germany. 

Donald started riding the Cornet Obolensky mare in the autumn of 2022, after Yorkshire rider Laura Robinson had produced her from the age of three. "She is amazing," said Donald. "She's unbelievably sharp and special in her own way, but all she wants to do is try her best, and she’s got the best biggest heart," he added. "She is so naturally fast anyway and she’s such a trier, more often than than not I make a mess of it and she’s trying her heart out for me. But I thought to myself, it’s the King George Cup, just go for it!"

Though he was disappointed not to add a second King George title to his resume, Ben Maher was pleased with how much Enjeu De Grisien has come on. "This was Enjeu’s first Grand Prix class last year, and he jumped a good round - but his inexperience showed," said Ben. "He’s come a long way in a year, and I did everything I could today. I beat the ones that were ahead of me and it was always going to be down to these guys to take all the risk and congratulations to Donald and Tim, they did an amazing job."

As the Agria Royal International Horse Show drew to a close, Hickstead Executive Director Edward Bunn reflected on what has been an excellent event. "What an afternoon, and what a week! Thank you to everyone who has made this the best Royal International ever."

Today brought Hickstead's international season to a close, but the national action continues with the first British Young Horse Championships (9-12 August) followed by the All England September Tour (28 August to 1 September and 4 - 8 September).