John Whitaker MBE (born 5 August 1955,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

) is a British

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

and Olympian who competes in

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

. He has won numerous international medals including an olympic silver medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He is the managing director of John Whitaker International Limited which produces

tack Thermoproteati is a kingdom of archaea. Its synonym, "TACK", is an acronym for Thaumarchaeota (now Nitrososphaerota), Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota (now Thermoproteota), and Korarchaeota (now Thermoproteota), the first groups discovered. They ...

and

clothing.

Showjumping

Whitaker has enjoyed success across four decades. He has competed at World and European Championships and five olympic teams between 1984 and 2016. He has won the

Hickstead Derby The British Jumping Derby meeting – known for sponsorship reasons as the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby Meeting – is an annual showjumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, ...

four times.

Horses

He is best known for his partnership with the horse Milton with whom he won the Du Maunier Grand Prix at

Spruce Meadows Spruce Meadows is a multi-purpose sports facility near Calgary, Alberta built by the Southern family which opened in 1975. The facility contains an equestrian show jumping complex that comprises . The current president and CEO of Spruce Me ...

and won over £1 million in prize money before being retired in 1994. He won an Olympic medal in 1984 on

Ryan's Son Ryan's Son (1968-1987) was a successful show jumping horse ridden by John Whitaker. He was a bay gelding and stood . He was sired by a Thoroughbred called Ozymandias and born from an Irish Draught mare. In January 2007, Ryan's Son joined Joh ...

who he was given at the age of 18 and had a partnership with for 14 years.

Personal life

The Whitaker family is well known for showjumping. Whitaker is married to Clare Barr and has three children, including Robert Whitaker. His niece

Ellen Whitaker Ellen Whitaker (born 5 March 1986) is an English show jumping rider, currently ranked 191 on the FEI riders Longines Ranking list in July 2022. Career Competing since the age of 5, Whitaker has had much experience in the equestrian world an ...

, nephew William Whitaker as well as John's younger brother

Michael Whitaker Michael Whitaker (born 17 March 1960) is a British Olympic equestrian rider, who competes in the sport of show jumping. He was ranked 5th by the British Showjumping Association in March 2014. Career Younger brother of John Whitaker, Mich ...

, and his son

Jack Whitaker John Francis Whitaker (May 18, 1924 – August 18, 2019) was an American sportscaster who worked for both CBS and ABC. Whitaker was a decorated army veteran of World War II. He fought in the Normandy Campaign and was wounded by an artillery ...

are also show jumpers. Whitaker began riding at the age of 6, taught by his mother, who ran a riding school. As children, he and his brother

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

delivered milk using a horse and cart until they were 16 and began to show jump professionally. File:13-04-21-Horses-and-Dreams-2013-John Whitaker (11 von 14).jpg, On Argento (2013) File:Hessischen Ministerpräsidenten John Whitaker auf Maximilian 4 mk.jpg, On Maximilian (2013) John Whitaker 1.jpg, On Argento (2014) Welfenhofpreis foto of winner John Whitaker 2014.jpg, Won CCI3* on Argento (2014) File:John Whitaker and Argento jumping at Olympia 2017.jpg, On Argento (2017)

References

External links

website

FEI Rider's Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, John 1955 births Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire British male equestrians Olympic equestrians for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1992 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1996 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2000 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics British show jumping riders Sportspeople from Huddersfield Olympic medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics