Ask any sports fan in the UK if they’ve heard of Hickstead and the answer is likely to be: “Is that the place where horses go up and down a big bank?”
Of course, Hickstead is an awful lot more than that, with the showground celebrating its 60th birthday this year, but the Derby is one of those unique British occasions that crosses the line between sport and general interest.
In 1961, when Douglas Bunn supervised the construction of permanent obstacles to run a Derby class at his West Sussex home, not even he could have imagined that nearly six decades later that same competition over an almost identical course would still be making headlines.
Every Derby provides its own story. In 1963, Ted Edgar tackled the course with his broken arm in a sling and in 1996, 60-year-old Brazilian Nelson Pessoa was still recovering from a heart attack when he arrived at the showground. He wore a heart monitor in case the excitement got too much and still jumped the winning round, adding this to his two victories in the 1960s.
The Hickstead Derby has been won by a pony – the incomparable Stroller – and provided a phrase in the Oxford English Dictionary after a triumphant V-sign following the winning round in 1971 became known as “doing a Harvey Smith”.
Douglas devised the course after a trip to Hamburg in Germany, which began hosting its own Derby in 1924. When Douglas visited, he took measurements of Hamburg’s bank and added a few inches to ensure that his version would be bigger.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 18, 2020-Ausgabe von Horse & Hound.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 18, 2020-Ausgabe von Horse & Hound.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Jappeloup
A small horse who looked like two halves put together’, Jappeloup nonetheless proved to have a big heart and a huge talent”.
Collett takes two
A bumper fixture hosts 12 intermediate and open intermediate sections, as Paris contenders blow away the cobwebs
Capitalise on buyers' remorse
Equestrian properties might be in short supply, but prices are back to normal after the Covid frenzy as the capital lures buyers again
Games making
Equestrianism will be in the thick of the action in Paris, but the logistics of hosting Olympics in the heart of an iconic city are a challenge. Kate Johnson asks organisers, riders and grooms for their memories of urban Olympic sites
On the bench
Being picked as the \"fourth man\" to support a three-man Olympic team, ready to step in at any moment in the competition, requires a resilient and unflinchingly sportsmanlike mindset.
A brush with the Games
Want to know what really goes into preparing an Olympic campaign? Bethany Stone speaks to top industry grooms with star-studded CVs for the scoop
One moment in time
The Olympics is the zenith of an athlete's career but precious few scale those giddy heights. Sue Polley asks four British Olympians about their most memorable experiences
'Pride? I just felt relief
Blyth Tait on jumping barn roofs, \"freezing\" in the Atlanta heat and the day his eight-year-old prodigy won Olympic gold
Mental health advocate
Harry Dunlop retired from training in 2022, having held his licence for 16 years. He founded the Trainer Support Network in 2023
Hugo Simon
The six-time Olympian tells Bernard Bale about his \"extraterrestrial\" string of horses, changing nationality and his success at the boycotted Games