Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Gilstead, West Yorkshire, England | 29 December 1938||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home town | Bingley, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Equestrianism | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Show jumping | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Harvey John Smith (born 29 December 1938) is a retired British show jumping champion. He stood out from the ranks of showjumpers because of his broad accent and blunt manner. His career was often controversial: in 1971 he was disciplined (overturned on appeal) after he gave a "V sign" to the judges following a near-perfect round which won him the British Show Jumping Derby for the second year in succession; [1] this act also earned him a 'tongue-in-cheek' part in an advertisement for Victory V sweets with the slogan 'They've got a kick like a mule!' The expression "Doing a Harvey Smith" entered the English language for giving a V sign. [2]
Harvey John Smith was born on 29 December 1938 in Gilstead, England, to Walter and Ethel Smith who wanted him to "continue the family tradition and work in the construction industry with his older brother John". He rode his first pony at seven, and competed in his first show in 1947 at 8 years old on a local farmer's milk pony. He wasn't fond of school and preferred to spend his time outdoors with animals, and bought his first jumping horse Farmer's Boy in 1954. [3]
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External videos | |
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Harvey Smith riding Graf in a puissance competition at HOYS 1977 |
Smith competed in two Olympics—riding Summertime to 4th place for Great Britain in the Team jumping competition at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, he rode Madison Time to 11th place in the Individual jumping and 8th place for Great Britain in the Team jumping. [4]
Harvey will always be remembered for the immense contribution he made to the sport, not only as the ultimate showman, but as an Olympian who represented his country with fierce patriotism and whose desire never to be beaten drove him to win more than 50 grands prix, four Hickstead Derby titles, six championship medals and a swathe of prestigious trophies. —Jennifer Donald, Horse & Hound 2020 [5]
Smith won the John Player Trophy, the grand prix of Great Britain, seven times. [5]
In 1989 Smith was honoured for being the first man to have jumped in 100 Volvo World Cup Qualifying Rounds. [6] [5]
He retired from show jumping competition in 1990. [5]
Smith became so famous that he embarked on a brief, but unsuccessful, singing career. In 1975 he released a record with picture sleeve called True Love/End of the World on Handkerchief HANKY 3. [5]
He later became a television commentator for the British Broadcasting Corporation, doing equestrian coverage at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
During the 1970s in his spare time he competed in professional wrestling. [5] [7]
In 1990, after retiring from show jumping competition, Harvey joined with wife and trainer Sue Smith, a former showjumper herself, to form a racing team at their Yorkshire base, Craiglands Farm. [8] Their charge Auroras Encore won the 2013 Grand National. [5]
Harvey Smith is married to Sue Smith and they reside at Craiglands Farm. [5] [9] He has two sons Robert and Steven, with his previous wife Irene, who have also become equestrian champions. [5]
John Whitaker MBE is a British equestrian and Olympian who competes in show jumping. He has won numerous international medals including an olympic silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. He is the managing director of John Whitaker International Limited which produces tack and equestrian clothing.
Oliver Skeete is a British showjumper turned reality show contestant and actor.
Ellen Whitaker is an English show jumping rider, currently ranked 191 on the FEI riders Longines Ranking list in July 2022.
Michael Whitaker 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.
Eric Lamaze is a Canadian retired showjumper and Olympic champion. He won individual gold and team silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, riding his famed horse Hickstead. Lamaze has won three Olympic medals, as well as four Pan American Games medals and one World Equestrian Games bronze. He is considered one of Canada's best showjumpers.
Timothy Mark Stockdale was an English equestrian who competed in the sport of show jumping.
The Royal Windsor Horse Show is a horse show held annually since 1943 for five days in May or June in Windsor Home Park. The show is the only one in the United Kingdom to host international competition for dressage, show jumping, carriage driving and endurance riding. In addition, there are over 130 showing classes. It annually attracts more than 50,000 visitors and has key sponsors including Jaguar Landrover through their Defender brand, Hermes, Rolex, Pol Roger and many more.
The London International Horse Show, formerly the Olympia London International Horse Show, is one of the UK's biggest equestrian competitions. It is best known as the host of the UK legs of the FEI World Cup series in dressage, show jumping and driving, however it also has multiple other showjumping classes, as well as fun competitions such as a Shetland pony race and a dog agility competition. Many competitions are broadcast live by the BBC, and all are streamed. The show is held over six days during the week preceding Christmas, and typically involves over 400 horses and ponies.
Scott Brash MBE is a Scottish showjumper. He began riding the horse Hello Sanctos in early 2012. They competed as part of the British Team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London winning a gold medal in the team jumping event. In 2015 he became the first rider to win show jumping's Rolex Grand Slam, all three of the sport's most prestigious events in a single year, earning the sport's biggest individual prize of 1m Euros (£735,000).
Charlotte Susan Jane Dujardin is a British dressage rider, equestrian and writer. A multiple World and Olympic champion, Dujardin has been described as the dominant dressage rider of her era. She held the complete set of available individual elite dressage titles at one point: the individual Olympic freestyle, World freestyle and Grand Prix Special, World Cup individual dressage and European freestyle, and Grand Prix Special titles. Dujardin was the first rider to hold this complete set of titles at the same time.
Richard Davison is an Olympic standard dressage rider.
Jessica Rae Springsteen is an American equestrian. The daughter of musicians Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, she is a show jumping champion rider who has represented the United States Equestrian Team in international competition and won a silver medal in the Team jumping at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in 2021 in Tokyo.
Sue Smith is a British horse trainer.
Elizabeth Ann Drummond-Hay, better known as Anneli Drummond-Hay, was a British eventer and show jumper who won the 1961 Burghley Horse Trials riding her horse Merely-a-Monarch.
International Jumping Riders Club is a non-profit organization that represent equestrian athletes.
Oliver David Townend is a British eventing rider competing at the international three-day level. His wins include team gold at the 2007, 2009 and 2017 European Championships and wins at Badminton Horse Trials, Burghley Horse Trials, and the Kentucky Three Day Event. He also represented Britain at the World Equestrian Games in 2006 and 2014. He was the Event Rider Masters series champion in 2016. He has been eventing's world number one twice, in 2009 and again in 2018, and British number one seven times since 2009.
Ryan's Son (1968-1987) was a successful show jumping horse ridden by John Whitaker. He was a bay gelding and stood 16 hands. He was sired by a Thoroughbred called Ozymandias and born from an Irish Draught mare. In January 2007, Ryan's Son joined John Whitaker in being inducted into The British Horse Society Equestrian Hall of Fame.
Joseph Stockdale is a British show jumper.
Jack Whitaker is a British equestrian who competes as a show jumper.
Tim Gredley is a British equestrian who competes in the sport of show jumping.
Harvey Smith was another very good turn. He was strong, and loved wrestling as a boy. He used to go to all the venues round the Ilkley Moors, near Bradford. He didn't have to wrestle, but he loved it. We travelled all over in his top of the range Mercedes and wrestling was all he ever wanted to talk about. And he was good in the ring, strong legs, jutting jaw, loved a good scrap and the public loved him.