Former international showjumper Graham Fletcher, who is now a highly-respected trainer, as well as a breeder and producer of young horses, looks back at past times at Britain’s great shows
As we look forward to the London International Horse Show, it must seem to many equestrians that it’s always been part of Christmas. But, in fact, few gave it any chance of success when it opened at Olympia in 1972.
The UK was entering a tough recession; inflation would peak at 24% in 1975 and interest rates climbed to close to 20% at the end of the decade. So who, in their right mind, would think of running a horse show in the capital just before Christmas?
Yet that’s exactly what the late, great impresario Raymond Brooks-Ward did. I rode at Olympia that year and saw first-hand how his positivity and enthusiasm made it work.
The ground in the main ring was too spongey to jump big fences on and many riders were thinking of going home. But Raymond got us all together and pleaded with us to start, which we did.
He went out onto the London streets himself to sell tickets, got Ted Edgar to ride the camels, and introduced a fancy dress pairs class for top international riders knowing it would be entertaining.
His idea for a pantomime with Father Christmas closing the show was professionally choreographed but nearly all the actors were the riders’ children and their families. He put the show into showjumping – what a man!
Horse of the Year Show, meanwhile, owes much of its development to Colonel Sir Mike Ansell. And what a show that was for decades, its popularity culminating in prime-time BBC TV coverage watched by millions.
At Hickstead, Douglas Bunn’s brainchild was what remains one of the best international arenas in the world. He constructed grandstands and restaurants from which the public could watch grands prix, Nations Cups and Derbies. His idea for hospitality boxes was probably borrowed from racing, but I’m sure it was a first for showjumping.
It fills me with despair, therefore, to hear grievances about our 2025 national championships being devoid of atmosphere with few facilities for owners. That’s so different from what I’ve seen at shows across Europe this year where all owners and connections are treated as important and afforded the pleasure of watching their horses in comfort.
So what’s happened to the movers and shakers in Britain in recent years?
I was talking to top international rider Geoff Luckett at the Global Champions Tour in Cannes earlier this year, and he asked: “Why in Britain do we now do so badly on things we used to do so well?” And he’s bang on. It seems inconceivable that we once set the benchmark in top shows for others to follow.
At least we can look forward to the London International, still brilliantly run by Simon Brooks-Ward. I know I speak for the likes of David Broome, Harvey Smith, Nick Skelton, John Whitaker and many more in celebrating the sport, the fun and the memories those three great men – Sir Mike Ansell, Douglas Bunn and Raymond Brooks-Ward – gave us.
Dial in
So the FEI is banning riders from using mobile phones while mounted in the warm-up. It’s surely a move aimed not so much at experienced competitors but to send a message to more novice and junior riders.
We’ve had some excellent staff working for us, but a couple of years ago I began to notice that after they’d worked a horse and were cooling it down, they were straight on their phones.
So I explained to them as a group that they wouldn’t be insured if they had a fall while using their mobiles.
The look I got was one of “Yeah, right… we’ll do as you say but once you drive off in your car…” Needless to say, the very next day I caught both my lads on their phones while riding.
All I did was shake my head and resign myself to being like King Canute trying to hold back the tide. No doubt those eagle-eyed FEI stewards will have more success than me!
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