You saw them here first...

Several contenders at this year's London International made young debuts at the show. Jennifer Donald and Bethan Simons revisit some early appearances

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AS excitement builds towards this year's London International Horse Show (LIHS; 18-22 December), riders, grooms and producers will be putting the finishing touches to their meticulous preparations for the Christmas extravaganza.

Olympia became a Christmas tradition as sacred as turkey and crackers that is now enduring to new venue London Excel, where a stellar cast of leading equestrians will converge next week.

Unsurprisingly, Robert Whitaker has been coming to LIHS for as long as he can remember, appearing in the annual Christmas finale alongside his sister Louise and a host of other showjumping offspring.

His competitive debut came in 1993 at the age of 10, when he and his pony Half A Penny were paired with his uncle Michael for the Christmas mini-major, which they won in fine style. As soon as Robert heard he was drawn with his uncle he was “on the phone to Michael, planning how to win”. However, Robert's overriding memory of the class is “being so nervous I thought I was going to be sick”.

“I told my mum I didn't think I'd be able to ride and she replied, 'Well, if you're not going to ride, I'll put Matthew Broome on the pony instead," recalls Robert.

One of his greatest early successes in London came in 1999 when he rode Lord Liberty W to a storming victory in the young showjumper of the year final, becoming the first member of his family to lift the prestigious title.

As reported in H&H, Robert, who had been part of that year's winning junior European team, “followed his father John's instructions to the letter”.

“The 16-year-old took out strides, pulled off some near-impossible turns and broke the beam a winning 0.67sec to the good,” the report continued.

Robert first rode in London’s CSI5* classes at the age of 17.