William Funnell and John Whitaker

John Whitaker has inspired generations of riders, not least William Funnell. The pair sit down to discuss horsemanship, riding Milton, keeping motivated and years of friendship

- Steven Wilde and Jennifer Donald

WILLIAM: I have admired your quiet consistency with horses since I was a kid, so it made a big impact years later when you sent your horse Barry Bug for me to ride.

To go on to win the leading showjumper at Horse of the Year Show on a horse owned by you was a big thrill; I was in my twenties, I’d not done many internationals and had Comex as my top horse but nothing else, so I really felt like I’d made it. Was there a moment you thought, “Yes, I’ve made it”?

JOHN: That night was a great experience for me, too, because I’ve never been on that side of the game – usually I’m on the horses’ backs. But, yes, aged about 18 when Ryan’s Son was seven and I had another seven-year-old called Singing Wind we went to Yorkshire Show. The first day was a big step up from what I’d been doing at the small county shows and it was a complete disaster.

On the way home I said to my father, “I think I’m a bit out of my depth,” and I was a bit reluctant to go back the second day, but my father talked me into it. I won the first class with Singing Wind, then the big class with Ryan’s Son and the third day won the Cock O’The North against David Broome, Harvey Smith and all the top riders. That was the point I thought, “I’m all right at this!”

My first memories of you, Will, were when you started riding for Cyril Light and believe it or not I thought you were really shy…

WILLIAM: I was!

JOHN: We’ve been good mates since. I remember your really good win in the Foxhunter final when you were 17.