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Ryan’s Son: the ‘carthorse’ who won medals and put the Whitaker family on the map


  • He may not have looked the part but Ryan’s Son was the horse that set the Whitaker bandwagon rolling. Jennifer Donald asks connections about the “carthorse” that scaled showjumping’s heights

    “HE has the body of a carthorse but the engine of a thoroughbred,” uttered the straight-talking Harvey Smith after watching the mighty Ryan’s Son.

    John Whitaker’s distinctive partner of 14 years took him to the Olympics, Hickstead Derby glory and won a host of championship medals.

    But the Yorkshireman’s first impressions of this 16hh bay gelding with a broad blaze and two long white stockings certainly didn’t match his world-conquering aspirations. Little did he know that Ryan’s Son would help shape showjumping history. Without him, John says, he’d still be a milkman.

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    This exclusive feature is also available to read in 15 July issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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