British Jumping Derby

Irish competitor Michael Whyte descends the Derby bank during the 2011 Derby competition

The British Jumping Derby meeting - informally known as the Equestrian.com Hickstead Derby - is an annual showjumping event held since 1961 at the All England Jumping Course at Hickstead in June every year. It is considered one of the premier events in the equestrian calendar.^[1][2][3][4]

A highlight of the meeting is the British Jumping 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.^[1][5]

“	The British Jumping Derby is one of those events a bit like the Grand National where it's not just the runners and riders that make the headlines but the course itself. It's an iconic showjumping contest, the like of which you won't find anywhere else in the world, no other course asks this much of a test of horse and rider and no other course creates this type of drama.	”
	— Clare Balding, BBC Sport[6][7]

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:^[5]

Fence name	Height	Width	Notes
The Cornishman	4 ft 8 in (1.42 m)		Solid stone wall with a pole
white oxer	4 ft 3 in (1.30 m)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
double water ditches	5 ft (1.5 m) & 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
black gate	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)		maximum height fence for the course, upright and falls easily
wall	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
privet hedge oxer	4 ft 11 in (1.50 m)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
road jump	5 ft (1.5 m) and 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)		table fence with no exit except over jumps
Derby Bank	10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) drop with 3 ft 5 in (1.04 m) high fence before		iconic obstacle of the course. fence 16st from main drop which horses must slide down
white rails	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)		two strides from bottom of bank
Devil's Dyke	4 ft 9 in (1.45 m), 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m), 4 ft 8 in (1.42 m)		closed obstacle, but sloping ground increases apparent fence height to near 6 ft (1.8 m)
open water		15 ft (4.6 m)
Derby rails	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
open ditch	5 ft 1 in (1.55 m)	6 ft (1.8 m)
balustrades	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
double of gates	4 ft 10 in (1.47 m), 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m)	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
rustic spread	4 ft 10 in (1.47 m)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)

Results

The results of the main British Jumping Derby class at the show are as follows:

Year	Rider	Country	Horse	Ref
1961	Seamus Hayes	IRL	Goodbye III	[8]
1962	Pat Smythe	GBR	Flanagan	[8]
1963	Nelson Pessoa	BRA	Gran Geste	[8]
1964	Seamus Hayes	IRL	Goodbye III	[8]
1965	Nelson Pessoa	BRA	Gran Geste	[8]
1966	David Broome	GBR	Mister Softee	[8]
1967	Marion Coakes	GBR	Stroller	[8]
1968	Alison Westwood	GBR	The Maverick III	[8]
1969	Anneli Drummond-Hay	GBR	Xanthos II	[8]
1970	Harvey Smith	GBR	Mattie Brown	[8]
1971	Harvey Smith	GBR	Mattie Brown	[8]
1972	Hendrik Snoek	GER	Shirokko	[8]
1973	Alison Dawes (Westwood)	GBR	Mr. Banbury	[8]
1974	Harvey Smith	GBR	Salvador	[8]
1975	Paul Darragh	IRL	Pele	[8]
1976	Eddie Macken	IRL	Boomerang	[8]
1977	Eddie Macken	IRL	Boomerang	[8]
1978	Eddie Macken	IRL	Boomerang	[8]
1979	Eddie Macken	IRL	Boomerang	[8]
1980	Michael Whitaker	GBR	Owen Gregory	[8]
1981	Harvey Smith	GBR	Sanyo Video	[8]
1982	Paul Schockemöhle	GER	Deister	[8]
1983	John Whitaker	GBR	Ryan's Son	[8]
1984	John Ledingham	IRL	Gabhran	[8]
1985	Paul Schockemöhle	GER	Lorenzo	[8]
1986	Paul Schockemöhle	GER	Deister	[8]
1987	Nick Skelton	GBR	J Nick	[8]
1988	Nick Skelton	GBR	Apollo	[8]
1989	Nick Skelton	GBR	Apollo	[8]
1990	Jozsef Turi	GBR	Vital	[8]
1991	Michael Whitaker	GBR	Monsanta	[8]
1992	Michael Whitaker	GBR	Monsanta	[8]
1993	Michael Whitaker	GBR	Monsanta	[8]
1994	John Ledingham	IRL	Kilbaha	[8]
1995	John Ledingham	IRL	Kilbaha	[8]
1996	Nelson Pessoa	BRA	Loro Piana Vivaldi	[8]
1997	John Popely	GBR	Bluebird	[8]
1998	John Whitaker	GBR	Gammon	[8]
1999	Rob Hoekstra	GBR	Lionel II	[8]
2000	John Whitaker	GBR	Welham	[8]
2001	Peter Charles	IRL	Corrada	[8]
2002	Peter Charles	IRL	Corrada	[8]
2003	Peter Charles	IRL	Corrada	[8]
2004	John Whitaker	GBR	Buddy Bunn	[8]
2005	Ben Maher	GBR	Alfredo II	[8]
2006	William Funnell	GBR	Cortaflex Mondriaan	[8]
2007	Geoff Billington	GBR	Cassabachus	[8]
2008	William Funnell	GBR	Cortaflex Mondriaan	[8]
2009	William Funnell	GBR	Cortaflex Mondriaan	[8]
2010	Guy Williams	GBR	Skip Two Ramiro	[9]
2011	Tina Fletcher	GBR	Promised Land	[10]
2012	Paul Beecher	IRL	Loughnatousa WB	[11]
2013	Phillip Miller	GBR	Caritiar Z	[12]
2014	Trevor Breen	IRE	Adventure De Kannan	[13]
2015	Trevor Breen	IRL	Loughnatousa W B	[8]

Sponsorship

Following a number of years of title sponsorship by furniture retailer DFS, making the event the DFS British Jumping Derby,^[14] in 2011 the sponsorship changed to floor and bed furnishing retailer carpetright, becoming the Carpetright British Jumping Derby.^[15][16] Sponsorship has now been taken over by the UK's largest online Equestrian retailer - Equestrian.com

External links

• Official British Jumping Derby website

References

1. "The DFS British Jumping Derby, Hickstead". Debretts.
2. "DFS British Jumping Derby". Equestrian Shows. 2009-09-19.
3. Parry-Crooke, Simon (2009-12-31). "Sport 2010: compete month-by month calendar for the year ahead". The Daily Telegraph.
4. "Preview:Hickstead Derby". BBC Grandstand. 2003-09-15.
5. "Facing the Hickstead Derby course". Horse and Hound. 2006-06-28.
6. "All England Jumping Course, Hickstead". South East England Development Agency.
7. "British Jumping Derby Meeting". All England Jumping Course at Hickstead.
8. "Show Jumping – Major Shows". Sports Records.
9. result 2010 British Jumping Derby
10. http://results.scgvisual.com/2011/hickstead/r19.html result 2011 British Jumping Derby
11. http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/competitionnews/390/313104.html result 2012 British Jumping Derby
12. http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/phillip-miller-meet-hickstead-derby-winner result 2013 British Jumping Derby
14. Jeffery, Peter; Akehurst, Sue. "Hickstead" (PDF) (29). Horse Times Egypt.
15. "Carpetright is the new sponsor of the Hickstead Derby". British Showjumping.
16. "Our Sponsors". Hickstead.