John Whitaker

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(born 5 August 1955,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district 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 confluence into ...

) 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 i ...

and Olympian who competes in

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

. 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 also 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 secon ...

held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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

tack TACK is a group of archaea acronym for Thaumarchaeota (now Nitrososphaerota), Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota (now Thermoproteota), and Korarchaeota, the first groups discovered. They are found in different environments ranging from acidophilic the ...

and

clothing.

Showjumping

John and his brother Michael have both been competing for decades at the highest international level. 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 event held since 1961 at the Hickstead in June every year. It is considered one of the premier events in th ...

four times.

Horses

He is best known for his partnership with the horse

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

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. However he won his olympic medal in 1984 on

Ryan's Son Ryan’s Son (1968-1987) was a successful showjumping 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 J ...

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 its showjumping prowess. John is married to Clare Barr and has three children – Joanne, Louise and Robert. Robert Whitaker has successfully show jumped at the highest levels. John's 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 and ...

, nephew William Whitaker and 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 ...

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

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

delivered milk using a horse and cart until they were 16 and began to show jump professionally. John Whitaker (equestrian).jpg Hessischen Ministerpräsidenten John Whitaker auf Maximilian 1 mk.jpg Hessischen Ministerpräsidenten John Whitaker auf Maximilian 3 mk.jpg John Whitaker 1.jpg WPT2013-CSI5-01-John Whitaker-Argento-1.JPG

References

External links

John Whitaker's official fan club 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 of 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