July 29, 2024 
Some family dynasties sell cars, others can fix your plumbing or HVAC system. For the Whitakers of Great Britain, though, it’s all about the show jumping.
They made that clear once again on Sunday, July 28 when Donald Whitaker formally took up the family tradition: Winning the Agria King George V Gold Cup at Hickstead.
One year earlier, his cousin, Robert Whitaker, 41, won the class with Vermento. This summer, it was Donald’s turn, becoming the fourth Whitaker to win the prestigious event aboard Millfield Colette.
In total, Whitakers (Michael, John, Robert, and Donald) have won this class nine times in history.
Yes, nine.
Given Hickstead’s obvious place in the Whitaker family lore, this win was especially rewarding for the 32-year-old Yorkshire native.
“I’ve been coming to this show since I was eight years old, so it means the absolute world to me, especially for my first five-star win to be home at Hickstead—it’s my favorite show in the world,” Donald said.
The Germany-based rider was one of 10 entries in the 50-horse, first-round field to jump clear and move into the second round. There, Donald faced down (surprise!) yet another Whitaker: his uncle, six-time British Olympian John.
Two days earlier, that Whitaker, 68, was part of the winning British team in the Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain. Unfortunately, on Sunday, he and Equine America Unick Du Francport knocked a rail coming into the jump-off combination, ultimately taking 7th place.
In the end, the class would be decided by a few tenths of a second and four riders: Donald Whitaker, Brazil’s Luciana Lossio, and fellow British riders Tim Gredley and Ben Maher.
Stopping the clock at 46.22 seconds, the always-efficient Maher and the just-10-year-old Selle Français gelding Enjeu De Grisien put in an impressive performance. But Whitaker didn’t hold back, keeping his foot down on the gas while making the most of Millfield Colette’s natural foot speed.
The pair took the win by a nose at 46.12—and a mere 0.1 of a second.
“This was Enjeu’s first Grand Prix class last year, and he jumped a good round, but his inexperience showed,” said Maher, who finished 2nd. “He’s come a long way in a year, and I did everything I could today. I beat the ones that were ahead of me and it was always going to be down to these guys [behind me] to take all the risk.”
That risk paid off for Whitaker, who not only earned his first *5 victory but also his first win in a 1.60m grand prix. He and Millfield Colette have been paired together for just under two years, jumping 4/0 in early 2023 for Great Britain in their next-biggest achievement to date: the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Abu Dhabi.
Though the pair have only competed 10 rounds together at 1.60m—where they jump clear at 20%, according to Jumpr—at 1.50m, where they’ve competed more than double that amount, they are clear at 39%. Yet when she is clear, even in bigger classes, the 11-year-old OS mare’s speed across the ground makes her a formidable competitor in any jump-off.
Case in point: at 1.50m, Millfield Colette finishes in the top 10 at 45%; at 1.60m, her numbers improve to 71%. No wonder Donald Whitaker is head-over-heels.
“She’s unbelievably sharp and special in her own way, but all she wants to do is try her best, and she got the best, biggest heart,” he wrote on Instagram.
“She is so naturally fast, anyway, and she’s such a trier, more often [than] not I make a mess of it and she’s trying her heart out for me.”
