Whitaker’s Set For Dominance!
Filed Under: Competition Fixtures · NEWS!
Filed Under: Competition Fixtures · NEWS!
BRITAIN’S top sporting family are set for another year of dominance.
Five members of Huddersfield’s Whitaker family have been selected to compete at the British Open Show Jumping Championships at the NEC in Birmingham.
The Championships run from April 3 to 6 and feature the country’s top 12 showjumpers competing for £150,000 and the coveted title.
As the Whitakers make up five of the top 10, they are odds on to take the trophy back to Kirklees.
The family were originally based at Hurst Farm in Outlane, where brothers John and Michael were introduced to the sport by parents Donald and Enid.
John, 52, first began riding at seven and, after 45 years in the sport, he is now the No1 British rider in the British Show Jumping Association’s yearly rankings.
Closely following John in the table is Michael, 47 and hot on their heels are Robert, 24, Ellen, 21, and William, 18, who are ranked at fourth, sixth and seventh respectively.
The top-ten riders list is: 1 John Whitaker MBE (Yorkshire), 2 Michael Whitaker (Yorkshire), 3 Nick Skelton (Warwickshire), 4 Robert Whitaker (Yorkshire), 5 Tim Stockdale (Northamptonshire), 6 Ellen Whitaker (Yorkshire), 7 William Whitaker (Yorkshire), 8 Robert Smith (Warwickshire), 9 William Funnell (Surrey), 10 David McPherson (Kent).
And those five Whitakers could yet be joined by a sixth family member at the Open – 19 year-old Joe Whitaker.
Seventy-second placed Joe won a team bronze at the European Juniors Championship in 2006, and is attempting to enter the Open via qualifying.
Joe and sister Ellen are trained by father Steven, 48, at their base in Barnsley, and he believes at least four of the Whitakers have a great chance of representing their country in the 2012 Olympics.
Steven said: “Both John and Ellen have had an unbelievable 2007.
“John is really in his prime at the moment, and he has had to be to take the top spot away from Michael. Ellen is the No1 female showjumper in the world and is showing great form coming into the British Open.
“Robert is also beginning to prove himself as a formidable competitor, and I think any of those four could easily represent Great Britain at the Olympics.”
So who is Steven tipping to take the British title?
“At the moment I would say Ellen,” he said.
“I am sure my brothers will have something to say about that, but she is really focused at the moment and has two new world-class horses.
“But every day is different and there are at least 50 other tournaments a year – many that the family compete in against each other.
“It is nothing new to them and they just get on with trying to win each competition.”
The four-day event will also feature the British Open Indoor Cross Country Championship, attracting such famous names as last year’s winner Raf Kooremans, world No3 Clayton Fredericks and World Champion Zara Phillips, the former BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Tickets for the show can be bought by contacting the Box Office on 08700 100 216 or by visiting www.britishopenshowjumping.com
