| Michael Whitaker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Michael Whitaker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Show jumping | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 March 1960 Huddersfield | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5.8 ft 0 in (1.77 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 152 lb (69 kg; 10 st 12 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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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.
Younger brother of John Whitaker, Michael began competing on ponies at the age of 5. At the age of 16, he made his debut in international competitions and in 1980 he became the second youngest winner of the Hickstead Derby, at the age of 20. In September 1993 he took over from his brother John as the internationally top-ranked show jumping rider.[ citation needed ]
In 2009 Whitaker was banned from competition for four months after his stallion Tackeray tested positive for a synthetic hormone altrenogest during a competition in France. [1] Altrenogest is a female hormone that Whitaker claimed was present in the sample due to a mix up in feed buckets. [2] Whitaker was found to be negligent for the positive test. [3]
Born and raised on his parents' farm in Yorkshire. He and his three brothers were taught to ride by their mother Enid, a keen horsewoman. Michael began riding aged three on a Shetland pony named Hercules.
In December 1980, Whitaker married Belgian show jumper Veronique. They separated in 1997, and later divorced. [4]
He married his second wife on 13 August 2013. They live in Whatton, Nottinghamshire with their children. [5] Their son Jack is also a show jumper. [6]
The individual show jumping event, part of the equestrian program at the 2004 Summer Olympics, was held from 22 to 27 August 2004 in the Olympic Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Markopoulo in the Attica region of Greece. Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. There were 77 competitors from 27 nations. Each nation could send up to 4 riders. Cian O'Connor of Ireland initially received the gold medal, but that medal was stripped from him due to doping. After his disqualification, the event was won by Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, the nation's first medal in individual jumping. Silver went to Chris Kappler of the United States, with bronze to Marco Kutscher of Germany.
Marius Silver Jubilee, better known as Milton, was a successful showjumping horse ridden by John Whitaker. He was a grey gelding and stood 16.2 hands high at the withers.
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.
Ellen Whitaker is an English show jumping rider, currently ranked 191 on the FEI riders Longines Ranking list in July 2022.
Ludger Beerbaum is an internationally successful German equestrian who competes in show jumping and has been ranked the No. 1 Show Jumper in the world by the FEI on multiple occasions. He is also a four-time Olympic Gold medalist team and individual.
The FEI European Show Jumping Championships is the European Championship for the equestrian discipline of show jumping. First held in 1957 in Rotterdam, and on an annual basis, it is held every two years, in the years between Olympic Games and World Equestrian Games.
Paul Schockemöhle is a German former showjumper. He was a successful international show jumping equestrian in the 1970s and 1980s at individual and team events in Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships. He was three times European Champion on his best horse Deister. He is the brother of Alwin Schockemöhle, another leading German rider.
Tony Andre Hansen is a Norwegian show jumper and musician.
Benjamin Richard Maher MBE is a British show jumper. He represented Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2009 European Championships in Windsor, 2012 London Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He won the team jumping gold at the London Olympics with Team GB, their first team jumping gold medal for 60 years, and an individual gold for Great Britain at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He also won bronze at the 2011 Europeans Championships in Madrid, Spain. He has won many international Grand Prix, including the Olympia Grand Prix, the King George V Gold Cup at Hickstead and an FEI World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix at Wellington with various rides.
Nicola Wilson is a British equestrian rider specialising in three-day eventing. Riding Opposition Buzz, she won a team gold at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games and team silver at the 2012 Olympic Games. She is also a seven-time medallist at the European Championships, including team golds in 2009, 2017 and 2021 and individual gold and bronze in 2021 and 2017, respectively.
Maikel van der Vleuten is a Dutch show jumping rider. He was born in Geldrop. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where he won a silver medal in team jumping and finished 37th in the individual.
Jessica Mendoza is one of the UK's top female equestrian athletes who broke into the World's top 100 riders, and into the top 10 British showjumping riders in Spring 2015. Jessica is also a regular contributor to the British monthly magazine PONY.
Lucy Davis is an American show jumping competitor and 2016 Olympian.
Martin Fuchs is a Swiss Olympic show jumping rider. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he finished sixth in the team and ninth in the individual competition. In 2019 he won the individual gold at the 2019 European Championship in Rotterdam. As of 31 May 2022, he is ranked as the World Number 1 showjumper by the FEI.
Samantha (Sam) McIntosh is a showjumper and equestrian from New Zealand.
Caroline Frances Bradley MBE was an international British show-jumper, becoming the first female winner of the Puissance at the Horse of the Year Show in 1974, an era when the sport was still largely dominated by male riders. She went on to win team gold medals in World and European championships in 1978 and 1979 respectively and had considerable individual success, winning the grand prix at Hickstead in 1980 and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in 1978 and 1980. She died, aged 37, after collapsing at the Suffolk Show having suffered a heart attack.
Kevin Babington is an Irish equestrian. He competed in two events at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2019, Babington was paralyzed from the neck down following a fall at the Hampton Classic Horse Show.
Jean-Maurice Bonneau was a French equestrian and coach.
Joseph Stockdale is a British show jumper.
Jack Whitaker is a British equestrian who competes as a show jumper.
