Robert Smith, British showjumper

Robert Smith is a British showjumper, born on 12 June 1961 in Yorkshire. He now lives in Warwickshire.

Having represented Great Britain in Nations Cup teams on over 80 occasions (winning 18 times), and having topped British Showjumping‘s rider ranking list for three consecutive years, Robert Smith is one of Britain’s most consistently successful international showjumpers, as well as being a sought-after trainer.

His father, the legendary showjumper Harvey Smith who won the Hickstead Derby four times, introduced Robert to horses when he was six, marking the beginning a fiercely competitive father-son rivalry. Robert began to display his own prowess at the age of 15 when he won the Yorkshire Grand Prix at the Great Yorkshire Show.

In 1977 Robert made his mark on the international scene as a member of the British junior european gold medal winning team and two years later, at just 17, he became the youngest ever winner of the King George V Gold Cup at the Royal International Horse Show – a victory he repeated in 1988 and 1998. European team bronze followed in 1997.

A member of the World Class Performance Squad from 1999 to 2005, Robert has enjoyed consistently good results. In 2000 he made headline news by winning seven classes at the Horse of the Year Show and in 2002, after winning three classes including the World Cup Qualifier, he was named leading rider at Olympia. In March 2003, Robert received the World Cup silver medal for 100 starts in World Cup competitions and a year later was awarded the Animal Health Trust UK Equestrian Award.

In 2004, Robert matched his brother Steven and father’s accomplishments by representing Great Britain as an individual at the Athens Olympics with Mr Springfield, where, finishing fourth, he was the highest placed British rider. He went on to win back-to-back British Open titles in 2005 and 2006, as well as an array of world cup qualifiers, grand prix’s and puissance competitions.

Outside of the competition circuit, Robert operates a high calibre performance horse sales agency, based in the UK and Holland.

Recent achievements:

2010

• Abu Dhabi: 1st Nations Cup team (Talan)

2009

• Chester: 1st British Masters final (Vangelis S)

• Sheffield: 3rd British Open championship (Vangelis S)

2008

• Madrid: 3rd Nations Cup team (Vangelis S)

• Rome: 1st Nations Cup team (Ronaldo VI)

• Dublin: 1st Nations Cup team (Vangelis S)

2007

• Royal Windsor: 1st Grade A comp (Vangelis S)

• Rome: 1st Nations Cup team (Ronaldo)

2006

• 1st on FEI World Cup ranking list

• Sheffield: 1st British Open championship (Kalusha)

• Aachen: 3rd Nations Cup team (Marius Claudius)

• Rome: 2eq Nations Cup team (Marius Claudius)

• Hickstead: 1st Nations Cup team (Marius Claudius)

• Arena UK: 1st & 4th grand prix (Marius Claudius & Vangelis S)

2005

• Gothenburg: 1st World Cup qualifier (Kalusha)

• Sheffield: British Open championship (Kalusha)

• Lisbon: 2nd Nations Cup team (Marius Claudius)

• BS/Scope Festival: 1st grand prix (Ronaldo)

• Olympia: 1st World Cup qualifier, 1st grand prix (Kalusha)

2004

• BS leading international rider

• Sheffield: 2nd British Open championship (Mr Springfield)

• Rome: 2nd Nations Cup team (Mr Springfield)

• Hickstead: 1st Nations Cup team (Mr Springfield)

• Dublin: 3rd Nations Cup team (Marius Claudius)

• Barcelona: 3rd Nations Cup team (Mr Springfield)

• Athens Olympics: 4th individual (Mr Springfield)