Nicholas David Skelton (born 30 December 1957, Bedworth, Warwickshire, England) is a British former equestrian who competed in show jumping. He retired at the age of 59 years old, on 5 April 2017. He began riding at age 18 months and in 1975 took two team silvers and an individual gold at the Junior European Championships.
He has competed numerous times at the European Show Jumping Championships, winning three golds, three silvers and three bronzes both individually and with the British team over 26 years. In 1980, he competed in the Alternative Olympics, where he helped the British team to a silver medal. He currently holds the British show jumping high jump record, which he set in 1978.
His most notable successes occurred in back-to-back Olympic Games in the swansong of his career. In 2012, at the age of 54, Skelton won an Olympic gold medal as part of the Great Britain team. Four years later, he won the individual Olympic gold medal at his seventh Olympic Games. Having won both team and individual Olympic gold, Skelton and his horse, Big Star, retired together shortly after the 2016 Games.
Education Born in Bedworth, north Warwickshire, Skelton was educated at Bablake School in the city of Coventry in Central England.
Career Skelton rode in pony classes with little tuition before taking his pony to Ted and Liz Edgar for help when he was 14. He worked for and helped at the Edgars for two years before leaving school with no qualifications to work full-time for them. Skelton had plenty of early success with a horse called Maybe, but he went lame just before the Junior European Championships in 1975 and his place in the team looked lost. However, a reputedly ordinary horse, O.K., was brought in as a substitute and Skelton won individual gold. After this, he began riding more of the Edgar horses and in 1978, at Olympia, jumped just over 7 foot 7 inches on Lastic to set a new British record, which still stands. When Skelton partnered with St James the following year he broke into the senior GB team, of which he remained an integral part until his retirement.
In 1985, Skelton split from the Edgars and went on his own; his main horse at the time, Apollo, went with him and together they formed a partnership that won nearly all the top prizes in the sport, as well as many Championship medals. After Apollo, Skelton competed at the top level with many different horses before he teamed up with Dollar Girl in 1992 with the specific target of competing at the Barcelona Olympics. Despite the Olympics going badly for them, Skelton and Dollar Girl ultimately won the coveted World Cup Final in Gothenburg in 1995.
In September 2000, Skelton broke his neck in a fall while competing. The injury was serious and could have ended his show jumping career, but after retiring in 2001 he recovered and began competing again in 2002. Skelton returned to the saddle to partner Arko III, a horse he had ridden before breaking his neck. Skelton and Arko won the British Open title in 2004 at the British Open Show Jumping Championships and many other top prizes. Their most disappointing moment came at the Athens Olympics in 2004, where they were leading until the final round but finished out of the medals.
After Arko retired, Skelton revisited an old friend and owner, Gary Widdowson, for support and new horses. Gary and his wife Beverley bought, or co-bought with Skelton, a number of competition horses including Carlo 273, Skelton's European Individual Bronze medal partner, Big Star and Unique.
Following his Olympic 2012 gold medal, the post boxes in both Alcester, where he resides, and in Bedworth, where he was born, were painted gold in his honour.
Skelton won gold in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the individual category. In doing so he became the oldest British Olympic gold medallist since 1908. Following Skelton's success at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, rail operator London Midland honoured him with a gold-painted sign at Bedworth railway station. Skelton received a nomination for the 2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. He received 109,197 votes, placing him third. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism.
Major achievements
Skelton has had many successes at home and abroad and has ridden on over 164 Nations Cups teams (1978–2011). He has won various medals both as an Individual and as part of the teams in the Olympics, World Championships and European Championships between 1980 and 2016.
Olympic Games 2012: London. Team Gold medal with Big Star 2016: Rio de Janeiro. Individual Gold medal with Big Star Alternative Olympic Games 1980: Rotterdam. Team Silver medal with Maybe World championships 1982: Dublin. Team Bronze medal with If Ever 1986: Aachen. Team Silver medal and individual Bronze medal with Apollo 1990: Stockholm. Team Bronze medal with Grand Slam 1998: Rome. Team Bronze medal with Hopes are High European Championships 1985: Dinard. Team Gold medal and individual 4th with St. James 1987: St. Gallen. Team Gold medal and Individual Bronze medal with Apollo 1989: Rotterdam. Team Gold medal with Apollo 1991: La Baule. Team Silver medal with Phoenix Park 1993: Gijón. Team Silver medal with Dollar Girl 1995: St. Gallen. Team Silver medal with Dollar Girl 2011: Madrid. Team Bronze and individual Bronze medal with Carlo 273 Junior European Championships 1974: Lucerne. Team Silver medal with Maybe 1975: Dornbirn. Team Silver medal and individual Gold medal with O.K. Volvo World Cup Final 1995: Gothenburg. Winner with Dollar Girl Hickstead Derby 1987: Winner with J Nick 1988: Winner with Apollo 1989: Winner with Apollo King George V Gold Cup 1984: Winner with St. James 1993: Winner with Limited Edition 1996: Winner with Cathleen III 1999: Winner with Hopes are High
Skelton currently holds the British Show Jumping High Jump record, at 7 ft 7in 5/16th (2.32m) set at Olympia in 1978 with Lastic.
Horses
Top horses that Skelton has ridden include Maybe, If Ever, Apollo, St. James, Major Wager, Top Gun, Grand Slam, Phoenix Park, Dollar Girl, Limited Edition, Showtime, Tinka's Boy, Hopes are High, Russel and Arko III.
Skelton's current top flight horses are Big Star, Carlo 273 and Unique, all of which are owned by Beverley Widdowson.
Skelton won team gold at his home Olympics in London 2012 with his horse Big Star, alongside Ben Maher, Peter Charles and Scott Brash.
Career statistics
Individual wins YearLocationClassHorse2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2016 Olympics Big Star2012 Hamburg, Germany GCT Grand Prix Big Star La Baule, France Grand Prix Carlo 273 Antwerp, Belgium Grand Prix Big Star Palm Beach, United States Grand Prix Big Star2011 St. Gallen, Switzerland Grand Prix Carlo 2732008 CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament, Spruce Meadows, Canada CN International Grand Prix Arko III Grobbendonk, Belgium Grand Prix Arko2007 Estoril, Portugal Global Champions Tour Grand Prix Arko2006 Lucerne, Switzerland Grand Prix Arko Rome, Italy Grand Prix Arko2005 Leipzig, Germany World Cup Qualifier Arko Spruce Meadows, Canada Grand Prix Arko2004 Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, Great Britain Grand Prix Russell British Open Show Jumping Championships, Sheffield, Great Britain The British Open Arko Royal Windsor, Great Britain Grand Prix Russell2003 Leeuwarden, The Netherlands Grand Prix Arko2002 Portimão, Portugal Grand Prix Arko Lizerias, Portugal Grand Prix Arko2000 Royal Windsor, Great Britain Grand Prix Jalisco1999 Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, Great Britain King George V Gold Cup Hopes Are High1998 Madrid, Spain Grand Prix Showtime Gijón, Spain Grand Prix Hopes Are High Dublin, Ireland Grand Prix Hope Are High CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament, Spruce Meadows, Canada Du Maurier Grand Prix Hopes Are High Leeuwarden, The Netherlands Grand Prix Zalza1997 Lisbon, Portugal Grand Prix Showtime Horse of the Year Show, Great Britain Grand Prix Showtime1996 Bordeaux, France World Cup Qualifier Dollar Girl Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, Great Britain King George V Gold Cup Cathleen III Moorsele, Italy Grand Prix Dollar Girl Madrid, Spain Grand Prix Showtime Gijón, Spain Grand Prix Dollar Girl Olympia, Great Britain Masters Zalza1995 Gothenburg, Sweden World Cup Final Dollar Girl Barcelona, Spain Grand Prix Showtime San Marino, Italy Grand Prix Showtime Horse of the Year Show, Great Britain Grand Prix Showtime Aarhus, Denmark Masters Dollar Girl Stuttgart, Germany Grand Prix Dollar Girl1994 Millstreet, Ireland World Cup Qualifier Dollar Girl1993 Paris, France Grand Prix Major Wager Paris, France World Cup Qualifier Major Wager Gothenburg, Sweden Grand Prix Major Wager Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, Great Britain King George V Gold Cup Limited Edition St. Gallen, Switzerland Grand Prix Dollar Girl Horse of the Year Show, Great Britain Everest Final Showtime Ascona, Switzerland Grand Prix Dollar Girl CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament, Spruce Meadows, Canada Du Maurier Grand Prix Dollar Girl1992 Genk, Belgium Grand Prix Major Wager Gothenburg, Sweden Grand Prix Major Wager Amsterdam, The Netherlands Masters Limited Edition1991 Horse of the Year Show, Great Britain Leading Showjumper of the Year Phoenix Park Horse of the Year Show, Great Britain Masters Phoenix Park Dublin, Ireland Grand Prix Phoenix Park1990 Kossen, Austria Grand Prix Fiorella Cortina, Italy Grand Prix Fiorella Dublin, Ireland Grand Prix Phoenix Park Dortmund, Germany Grand Prix Top Gun Horse of the Year Show, Great Britain Grand Prix Grand Slam1989 Hickstead, Great Britain Hickstead Derby Apollo1988 Hickstead, Great Britain Hickstead Derby Apollo Dublin, Ireland Grand Prix Apollo Aachen, Germany Grand Prix Apollo1987 Hickstead, Great Britain Hickstead Derby J Nick Aachen, Germany Grand Prix Apollo1985 Antwerp, Belgium World Cup Qualifier St James CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament, Spruce Meadows, Canada Du Maurier Grand Prix St James Dublin, Ireland Grand Prix Apollo Toronto, Canada World Cup Qualifier Apollo New York City, United States World Cup Qualifier Apollo1984 Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, Great Britain King George V Gold Cup St James1983 Toronto, Canada World Cup Qualifier St James Olympia, Great Britain World Cup Qualifier St James Aachen, Germany Grand Prix If Ever1979 Geneva, Switzerland World Cup Qualifier Lastic1978 Horse of the Year Show, Great Britain Leading Showjumper of the Year Maybe
Nation's Cup wins YearLocationHorse2011 Dublin, Ireland Carlo 2732008 Dublin, Ireland Arko III2005 Dublin, Ireland Arko III2005 Rome, Italy Arko III2004 Hickstead, Great Britain Russell2003 Hickstead, Great Britain Arko III1997 Modena, Italy Showtime1997 Royal Windsor, Great Britain Showtime1997 Gijón, Spain Tinka's Boy1996 Lisbon, Portugal Cathleen III1996 Dublin, Ireland Dollar Girl1996 Calgary, Canada Showtime1993 Hickstead, Great Britain Limited Edition1992 Hickstead, Great Britain Limited Edition1992 Calgary, Canada Dollar Girl1991 Calgary, Canada Phoenix Park1991 Dublin, Ireland Phoenix Park1991 Rome, Italy Apollo II1991 Luembourg, Luxembourg Phoenix Park1990 Rome, Italy Grand Slam1990 Calgary, Canada Grand Slam1990 Dublin, Ireland Phoenix Park1990 New York City, United States Grand Slam1989 Luembourg, Luxembourg Serenade1989 Dublin, Ireland Grand Slam1989 Calgary, Canada Grand Slam1989 St. Gallen, Switzerland Apollo1988 Dublin, Ireland Apollo1988 Rome, Italy Apollo1987 Gijón, Spain Airbourne1986 Jerez de la Frontera, Spain Apollo1986 Dublin, Ireland Apollo1986 Toronto, Canada Apollo1986 Washington, D.C., United States Apollo1986 Rotterdam, Netherlands Airbourne1985 Dublin, Ireland Apollo1985 Hickstead, Great Britain Apollo1985 Calgary, Canada Apollo1984 Paris, France St James1984 Liège, Belgium Apollo1983 Paris, France St James1982 Lucerne, Switzerland If Ever1981 Aachen, Germany Maybe1979 Zuidlaren, The Netherlands Maybe