WITH a bank 10ft 6in high, the Hickstead Derby is among the most famous show jumping classes in the world, familiar even to those who don’t follow the sport.

In 2020, the All England Jumping Course, better known as Hickstead, celebrates 60 years in existence.

The late Douglas Bunn built the magnificent venue at his home in West Sussex and, a year later, oversaw the construction of the Derby track, which has remained almost the same ever since.

Eight Irish riders have won 17 of the 58 runnings of the class, including the inaugural Derby in 1961, won by Seamus Hayes and Goodbye III when they produced the only clear round.

At the time, Bunn is quoted saying of Hayes: “Seamus arrived the night before the first Derby, parked his lorry in a corner of the field and walked down to the ring where a number of riders were looking at fences. When somebody asked him what he was doing there, he replied, ‘I’ve come to show you all how to jump the bloody bank!’”

Seamus Hayes was the first winner of the Hickstead Derby in 1961 with Goodbye III \ Hickstead

Hayes and Goodbye III won again three years later, before the late Paul Darragh became the next Irish rider to lift the trophy 11 years later aboard Pele.

Eddie Macken and Boomerang are in an elite group of five riders who have won the class four times but, amazingly, they are the only ones to win it four times in-a-row, from 1976 to 1979. The trophy is now named after the famous Battleburn-sired Boomerang, who was bred in Co Tipperary by Jimmy Murphy.

Eddie Macken with Boomerang, four-time winners of the Hickstead Derby

John Ledingham is a three-time winner. He claimed his first victory in 1984 with Gabhran, before recording back-to-back wins in 1994 and 1995 with Kilbaha. Riding under the Irish flag before he switched back to riding for Britian, Peter Charles scored three times in a row with Corrada (2001, 2002, 2003).

In those times, the bank was even steeper. In 2005, Bunn lessened the angle of the bank because he was concerned about the modern day show jumper’s ability to tackle such an obstacle.

The highest fences on the course are the black gate (fence four), the wall (five), the rails at the bottom of the bank (nine), the Derby rails (12) and the Balustrade (14), which all stand at 5ft 3in. The water jump was originally 16ft wide and was the first permanent Olympic-sized water jump to be built in Britain. It now measures 15ft wide and has been made shallower. The Devil’s Dyke, widely regarded as the trickiest jumping effort on course, is based on a local tourist attraction, a valley in the South Downs which looks like a canyon.

Capt John Ledingham and Kilbaha on their way to winning the Hickstead Derby in 1995

Last decade

In the last decade, Ireland have won the Derby on four occasions. Paul Beecher claimed a classy victory in 2012 aboard the Irish Sport Horse Loughnatousa WB. The combination were first to go in the class and the only combination to ever win from that draw.

Dreams finally came through for Trevor Breen in 2014 when, after finishing third in 2012 and second in 2013, he claimed victory with the one-eyed wonder horse Adventure de Kannan. He repeated victory in 2015, this time aboard Beecher’s former winner Loughnatousa WB.

Trevor Breen and Adventure De Kannan after winning the Derby in 2014 \ Nigel Goddard

Last year, Mikey Pender broke Michael Whitaker’s record when becoming the youngest ever winner of the Derby, aged 19. On his first time around the course, he produced a world-class ride to win on Hearton Du Bois Halleux.

After finishing runner-up to Seamus Hayes in the first Derby, Pat Smyth became the first female winner in 1962, and just four other ladies have added their name to the prestigious list. Alison Westwood (Dawes) won it for the second time in 1973 and it was some 38 years until Tina Fletcher clinched the trophy for the fairer sex in 2011 with Promised Land.

Favourite for this year’s trophy would have been Britain’s Harriet Biddick (née Nuttall) with the Irish Sport Horse A Touch Imperious (Touchdown x Cavalier Royale, bred by Leo Rice). The pair have finished second four times.

Four-time winners

  • Eddie Macken (Boomerang, 1976-1979)
  • Michael Whitaker (Owen Gregory, 1980; Monsanta, 1991-1993)
  • John Whitaker (Ryan’s Son, 1983; Gammon, 1998; Welham, 2000; Buddy Bunn, 2004)
  • Harvey Smith (Mattie Brown, 1970,1971; Salvador, 1974; Sanyo Video, 1981)
  • William Funnell (Cortaflex Mondriaan, 2006, 2008, 2009; Billy Buckingham, 2018)

    • Hickstead Derby facts

    58 – Runnings of the Derby

    8 – Irish riders have won a total of 17 times

    10ft 6in (3.20m) – The height of the Derby Bank

    5 – Four-time winners

    5 – Female winners

    1 – Cancellation (2020, Covid-19)