British Jumping Derby


The British Jumping Derby meeting – known as the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby Meeting – is an annual showjumping event held since 1961 at the All England Jumping Course at Hickstead in June every year. It is considered one of the premier events in the equestrian calendar.
A highlight of the meeting is the Al Shira'aa Derby, a 1,195-metre course with tricky jumps including the aptly named Devil's Dyke – three fences in short succession with a water-filled ditch in the middle and the difficult Derby Bank, a jump with 3 ft 5in rails on top and a 10 ft 6in slope down the front.

Derby fences

The main arena is used for a number of classes throughout the meeting, but the main Derby class always follows the same class, consisting of the following fences of 21 jumping efforts:
Fence nameHeightWidthNotes
1. The CornishmanSolid stone wall with a pole
2. white oxer
3. a.& b. double water ditches &
4. black gatemaximum height fence for the course, upright and falls easily
5. wall
6. privet hedge oxer
7. a. & b. road jump and table fence with no exit except over jumps
8. Derby Bank drop with high fence beforeiconic obstacle of the course. fence 16ft
from main drop which horses must slide down
9. white railstwo strides from bottom of bank
10. a., b. & c. Devil's Dyke,, closed obstacle, but sloping ground increases apparent fence height to near
11. open water
12. Derby rails
13. open ditch
14. balustrades
15. a. & b. double of gates, -
16. rustic spread

Results

The results of the main British Jumping Derby class at the show are as follows:
YearRiderCountryHorseRef
1961Seamus HayesGoodbye III
1962Pat SmytheFlanagan
1963Nelson PessoaGran Geste
1964Seamus HayesGoodbye III
1965Nelson PessoaGran Geste
1966David BroomeMister Softee
1967Marion CoakesStroller
1968Alison WestwoodThe Maverick III
1969Anneli Drummond-HayXanthos II
1970Harvey SmithMattie Brown
1971Harvey SmithMattie Brown
1972Hendrik SnoekShirokko
1973Alison Dawes Mr. Banbury
1974Harvey SmithSalvador
1975Paul DarraghPele
1976Eddie MackenBoomerang
1977Eddie MackenBoomerang
1978Eddie MackenBoomerang
1979Eddie MackenBoomerang
1980Michael WhitakerOwen Gregory
1981Harvey SmithSanyo Video
1982Paul SchockemöhleDeister
1983John WhitakerRyan's Son
1984John LedinghamGabhran
1985Paul SchockemöhleLorenzo
1986Paul SchockemöhleDeister
1987Nick SkeltonJ Nick
1988Nick SkeltonApollo
1989Nick SkeltonApollo
1990Jozsef TuriVital
1991Michael WhitakerMonsanta
1992Michael WhitakerMonsanta
1993Michael WhitakerMonsanta
1994John LedinghamKilbaha
1995John LedinghamKilbaha
1996Nelson PessoaLoro Piana Vivaldi
1997John PopelyBluebird
1998John WhitakerGammon
1999Rob HoekstraLionel II
2000John WhitakerWelham
2001Peter CharlesCorrada
2002Peter CharlesCorrada
2003Peter CharlesCorrada
2004John WhitakerBuddy Bunn
2005Ben MaherAlfredo II
2006William FunnellCortaflex Mondriaan
2007Geoff BillingtonCassabachus
2008William FunnellCortaflex Mondriaan
2009William FunnellCortaflex Mondriaan
2010Guy WilliamsSkip Two Ramiro
2011Tina FletcherPromised Land
2012Paul BeecherLoughnatousa WB
2013Phillip MillerCaritiar Z
2014Trevor BreenAdventure De Kannan
2015Trevor BreenLoughnatousa W B
2016William WhitakerGlenavadra Brilliant
2017Nigel CoupeGolvers Hill
2018William FunnellBilly Buckingham
2019Michael PenderHearton Du Bois

In 2019, Michael Pender became the youngest ever winner of the Hickstead Derby, taking the title from Marion Coakes when she won the Derby in 1967 on Stroller.

Sponsorship

Title sponsors in recent years have included furniture retailer DFS, floor and bed furnishing retailer carpetright and online retailer . The current title sponsors are Al Shira'aa, who have signed a three-year deal as title sponsor of the event, now known as the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby meeting.