‘This is where I've wanted to be my whole life'

Jack Whitaker has announced his arrival in showjumping’s big league with his first five-star victory. The ambitious teenager chats to Jennifer Donald about Olympic goals, dealing with hard times and sharing horses with his dad

- Jennifer Donald

BUOYED by a life-defining first five-star success, Jack Whitaker is brimming with excitement about what the future holds. This ambitious and supremely talented 19-year-old has long shaped in a similar mould to his Olympic silver medal-winning father, Michael, while confidently paving his own path on the jumping circuit. But as if his world-famous surname wasn’t a signal in itself, Jack’s recent victory at the first of this year’s majors, the Dutch Masters, has put Jack firmly on the map as a rider to watch.

“Jumping in my first Rolex grand prix there felt like a big deal but it’s where I’ve wanted to be my whole life, so it was like I was meant to be there,” he ponders with a laid-back approach that also sees him undaunted by competing against some of the highest ranked riders in the world.

“I went there to win, not just to participate” JACK ON HIS FIRST FIVE-STAR VICTORY

“Winning a five-star class was definitely on my bucket list, but I was hoping it was more about when it was going to happen rather than if it was going to happen. I went there to win, not just to participate, so to win the Audi prize was fantastic.

“I love going to those kinds of shows because, even without the crowd there, you immediately feel the atmosphere and there’s definitely a bit more tension.”