British Jumping Derby

The British Jumping Derby meeting – known for sponsorship reasons as the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby Meeting – is an annual showjumping event held since 1961 at the Hickstead in June every year. It is considered one of the premier events in the equestrian calendar.

A highlight of the meeting is the Al Shira'aa Derby, a 1,195-metre course with tricky jumps including the aptly named Devil's Dyke – three fences in short succession with a water-filled ditch in the middle and the difficult Derby Bank, a jump with 3 ft 5in rails on top and a 10 ft 6in slope down the front.

The course is known for its challenging nature that has changed little since its inception. As of 2022, there were only 64 clear rounds since the event's start in 1961.

Derby fences The main arena is used for a number of classes throughout the meeting (and at the Royal International Horse Show amongst others), but the main Derby class always follows the same class, consisting of the following fences of 21 jumping efforts:

Fence name Height Width Notes1. The Cornishman Solid stone wall with a pole2. white oxer 3. a.& b. double water ditches & 4. black gate maximum height fence for the course, upright and falls easily5. wall6. privet hedge oxer7. a. & b. road jump and table fence with no exit except over jumps8. Derby Bank drop with high fence beforeiconic obstacle of the course. fence 16 ft from main drop which horses must slide down9. white railstwo strides from bottom of bank10. a., b. & c. Devil's Dyke, , closed obstacle, but sloping ground increases apparent fence height to near 11. open water12. Derby rails13. open ditch14. balustrades15. a. & b. double of gates, 16. rustic spread

Results The results of the main British Jumping Derby class at the show are as follows: Year Rider Country HorseRef1961 Seamus HayesGoodbye III1962 Pat Smythe Flanagan1963 Nelson PessoaGran Geste 1964 Seamus HayesGoodbye III 1965 Nelson Pessoa Gran Geste 1966 David Broome Mister Softee 1967 Marion Coakes Stroller1968 Alison Westwood The Maverick III 1969 Anneli Drummond-Hay Xanthos II 1970 Harvey Smith Mattie Brown 1971 Harvey Smith Mattie Brown 1972Hendrik SnoekShirokko 1973 Alison Dawes (Westwood) Mr. Banbury 1974 Harvey Smith Salvador 1975 Paul DarraghPele 1976 Eddie MackenBoomerang 1977 Eddie MackenBoomerang 1978 Eddie MackenBoomerang 1979 Eddie MackenBoomerang 1980 Michael Whitaker Owen Gregory 1981 Harvey Smith Sanyo Video 1982 Paul Schockemöhle Deister 1983 John Whitaker Ryan's Son1984 John Ledingham Gabhran 1985 Paul SchockemöhleLorenzo 1986 Paul SchockemöhleDeister 1987 Nick Skelton J Nick 1988 Nick Skelton Apollo 1989 Nick Skelton Apollo 1990 Jozsef TuriVital 1991 Michael Whitaker Monsanta 1992 Michael Whitaker Monsanta 1993 Michael Whitaker Monsanta 1994 John Ledingham Kilbaha1995 John LedinghamKilbaha1996 Nelson PessoaLoro Piana Vivaldi1997 John Popely Bluebird1998 John Whitaker Gammon1999 Rob Hoekstra Lionel II2000 John Whitaker Welham2001 Peter Charles Corrada 2002 Peter CharlesCorrada 2003 Peter CharlesCorrada 2004John Whitaker Buddy Bunn2005 Ben Maher Alfredo II 2006 William Funnell Cortaflex Mondriaan2007 Geoff Billington Cassabachus2008 William Funnell Cortaflex Mondriaan2009 William Funnell Cortaflex Mondriaan2010 Guy Williams Skip Two Ramiro2011 Tina Fletcher Promised Land https://results.scgvisual.com/2011/hickstead/r19.html result 2011 British Jumping Derby2012 Paul Beecher Loughnatousa WB result 2012 British Jumping Derby2013 Phillip Miller Caritiar Zhttps://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/phillip-miller-meet-hickstead-derby-winner result 2013 British Jumping Derby2014 Trevor Breen Adventure De Kannan2015 Trevor BreenLoughnatousa W B2016 William Whitaker Glenavadra Brilliant 2017 Nigel Coupe Golvers Hill 2018William Funnell Billy Buckingham2019Michael PenderHearton Du Bois2022 Shane Breen Z7 Canya Makan 2023David SimpsonPjotr Van De Kruishoeve2024William FunnellDublon In 2019, Michael Pender became the youngest ever winner of the Hickstead Derby, taking the title from Marion Coakes when she won the Derby in 1967 on Stroller. Four riders have won the Hickstead Derby four times apiece - Eddie Macken, Harvey Smith, John Whitaker, and Michael Whitaker. In 2024 William Funnell became the first rider to win the event five times. In 2020 and 2021, the Hickstead Derby did not run because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Incidents

1972 – Chamusca Lad, ridden by Ann Backhouse was euthanized after falling on landing from the Derby Bank. 1987 – Ryan's Son, the 1983 winner of the competition, fell during his round on the course. The fall did not initially appear serious, and the horse walked back to the stabling area where he collapsed and died. 2004 – GG Barock was euthanized after breaking a rear leg while landing from the Derby Bank. After the incident, event organizers made changes to the Derby Bank to make the obstacle more friendly to equine competitors. 2018 – Navalo de Poheton, ridden by Andrew Kocher (USA) broke a leg while competing in the Derby and was fatally injured. It was the horse's last competition before retirement.

Sponsorship

Title sponsors in recent years have included furniture retailer DFS, floor and bed furnishing retailer carpetright and online retailer Equestrian.com. The current title sponsors are Al Shira'aa, who have signed a three-year deal as title sponsor of the event, now known as the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby meeting.

British Jumping Derby

Bron en licentie