'Mission Accomplished'

In an exclusive extract from GOLD: MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Nick Skelton recounts the emotion of calling time on his career after more than 40 years in the saddle — and the moment that he realised his childhood dream

- Nick Skelton

 WHEN I made the decision that Big Star and I would retire, it was just a month before Royal Windsor. That would be the place to do it, I thought. I rang Nick Brooks-Ward, the Operations Director at HPower Group, which runs Royal Windsor and Olympia, and the “man behind the microphone” at plenty of other shows. Hands-free is one thing but Nick had to actually stop his car when he heard what I said, that I was calling time on my competitive career, finally, and that Big Star was joining me. I always said we’d stop together and the time had come [...]

I’m sure Big Star knew pretty quickly he wouldn’t be jumping there. He is so intelligent. He must have been thinking: I haven’t been jumped at home, what am I doing here? [...]

Several people asked me how I felt about Sunday being my last time in the ring wearing white breeches and my team jacket, and my reply was I’d be sticking them all on eBay on the Monday morning. I didn’t, but apart from â€‹a few bits and pieces, most of my tack had already been of foaded to Dan Skelton Racing. I’d got my head around it, the thought of never competing again after forty-three years […]