Nick Skelton’s special tribute to John Hales: ‘I wouldn’t have got back in the saddle without him… he was a proper friend’
Following the recent passing of long-standing owner and top supporter of showjumping and racing, John Hales, aged 85, Nick Skelton shared his memories of the man who he credits for getting him back in the saddle after he broke his neck
“John was a great character, you couldn’t ask for a better owner,” said Nick Skelton said of his friend and owner John Hales, who died last week aged 85.
John’s top showjumpers included Nick’s superstar Arko III, who won over £1m during his illustrious career and jumped at the Athens Olympics.
He also owned Russel II – with whom Nick represented Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing – and other showjumpers, who he enjoyed with his wife Pat and daughter Lisa. He also owned top racehorses including One Man, Neptune Collonges and Azertyuiop among others.
“He loved to win and when he won, he celebrated, but if he lost he was magnanimous in defeat. Whether it was showjumping or racing, horses were John’s life,” said Nick.
John’s love of horses came mainly through his daughter Lisa, who had showjumpers; Nick met them at shows and went to sales with John.
“When we were driving back [from buying One Man], John said, ‘Pat’s going to go mad at me for spending all this money,’ but that’s how it all started,” Nick said, adding that it was John who got him back in the saddle after he broke his neck. “I don’t think I’d have done it if I hadn’t had Arko and him with me.”
“In 2000 he bought Arko as a six-year-old,” Nick said. “I’d already gone to try the horse for Lord Harris, who didn’t buy him. So I flew back to the Sunshine Tour and saw Lisa and showed her the videos and said, ‘I really love this horse.’ She looked at the video and said, ‘My dad will buy you him.’ So I trekked back to Hamburg the next day where I met John, and we bought him.
“Then in September I broke my neck and I was told I couldn’t ride any more, but he knew how much I thought of that horse and he knew Arko was in his training programme, so he never took him off me.
“He left Arko with me to give me something to do, to produce him. Andrew Saywell rode him, then Robert Whitaker, then I found one surgeon that told me I could ride again. I called John and told him I could ride again and he said, ‘Well, you’d better get back on Arko then.’
“John could have sent Arko to any top rider, but he was kind enough to leave him with me for 18 months – I’m sure because he trusted what I was doing and he knew what I thought of that horse.
“He had the patience of Job and he never once put any pressure on you.”
Nick credits John as the reason for his son Dan going into training; and when he did, John was the first to find him horses.
“That’s the type of person he was, a proper family friend,” he said.
- Read the full obituary for John Hales in H&H magazine, on sale Thursday (6 February)
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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.