Five Whitakers to jump at the Horse of the Year Show
John and Robert Whitaker will ride at next week’s Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) after the event they were scheduled to jump at in Brazil was postponed.
Britain’s number one and two respectively, Robert and John bring the number of Whitakers jumping in national and international classes at the NEC next week to 10.
“It is great news — we can celebrate our 60th anniversary in style,” said Mark Wein from HOYS organisers Grandstand.
“It’s disappointing the other show has been postponed, but hopefully now it’ll be a win-win situation [for the Whitakers].”
John, Michael and Robert were due to compete at the Global Champions Tour final in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from 8-12 October. But late last week, the competition was postponed for at least a week due to transportation and quarantine issues.
Robert said: “I’m glad I’m now able to jump at an international show in Britain. It’s always a pity when major fixtures clash.”
As well as the top five Whitakers, Louise, George, Thomas, Joe and Donald will jump at HOYS, too.
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Despite the influx of Britain’s greats, HOYS has said it will honour its invitations to riders outside the British top 10 who have been offered places.
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