Nick Skelton is a world-renowned show jumping rider and his career has lasted over 30 years

Nick has won nearly 1,500 classes and well over £4m in prize money

A near-fatal injury forced Nick to retire in 2001 but he has made an amazing recovery and he is once again at the very top of the prestigious sport of show jumping

Nick rode at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 on the legendary Arko III

Nick Skelton’s brilliant horsemanship is proved by the fact that no other rider has won so many major prizes on so many different horses and he is as well known and popular at Olympia and Hickstead as he is at Gothenburg or Paris.

Nick holds the British equestrian high jump record, when he jumped over 7’7” on Lastic in London back in 1978 and has competed at five Olympic Games (most recently in Athens in 2004). He has won ten European Championship Medals, six World Championship Medals, a World Cup Title and over 60 major Grand Prix’ titles. He has twice won the Du Maurier in Spruce Meadows, Calgary, a class which awards the highest prize money in show jumping history.

His famous horses Maybe, If Ever, Apollo and St. James took him to the pinnacle of his profession and brought him numerous top prizes back in the 1980’s, including winning the Hickstead Derby three times! Those successes were followed by a host of victories with other horses who all kept him in the spotlight: Major Wager, Top Gun, Grand Slam, Phoenix Park, Dollar Girl, Limited Edition, Showtime, Tinka’s Boy and Hopes are High.

Nick’s successes continued until the autumn of the year 2000 when he was seriously injured at the Park Gate horse show in Cheshire. Nick was flown to hospital by Air Ambulance where his injury was diagnosed: the top (C1) vertebrae in his neck was broken in two places and he was forced into retirement. Early in 2001, after enduring months in a metal neck brace, Nick was told by leading surgeons that he must give up riding permanently or risk fatal injury.

“The ligament that supports the bones snapped and tore a piece of bone away; I was told another fall could prove fatal,” explains Nick.

But time has proved to be a great healer - the piece of bone re-attached and surgeons passed Nick as fit to ride and compete and he was able to get back on a horse.

“At the time, I already knew Arko would be a fantastic horse,” says Nick, “and my initial motivation was really to be able to compete with such a good horse. I have Russel as well, another very talented horse. I am very lucky having such loyal owners in John, Pat and Lisa Hales of Golden Bear Toys.”

Arko III (to give him his full name) is now winning all over the world with Nick and the horse is already a legend in his own lifetime having competed in the Athens Olympics in 2004. Russel has also turned out to be absolutely top class. Both Russel and Arko have won major Grand Prix’s all over the world.

So, it seems the Nick Skelton story hasn’t ended yet …