Whitaker looking to hold his own at Olympia

Whitaker, 25, won three supporting classes at Olympia in 2008 and now returns as part of the headline act of 11 British show jumpers.

And fresh from his career-high success at Stuttgart last month, the Yorkshireman feels he has a genuine chance of glory in one of the week’s features – Sunday’s Longines World Cup class.

Following last weekend’s outing at the Rolex Grand Slam in Geneva, Whitaker will be taking on a stellar cast of show jumpers that includes world No 1 Scott Brash, who landed the weekend’s main prize in Switzerland on Hello Sanctos.

Brash is now back for more at Olympia alongside British 
No 2 Ben Maher and German trio Ludger Beerbaum, Daniel Deusser and Marcus Ehning, who are ranked three, four and five in the world respectively.

Also competing are two of Whitaker’s uncles in John and Michael, as well as cousin Robert.

All are hugely-established names in the showjumping sphere but Whitaker himself is now British No 5 with the Yorkshireman hoping the time has come to land his biggest prize yet, on British soil with which he is already familiar.

“Olympia is fantastic and it’s probably my favourite show to ride at,” Whitaker told The Yorkshire Post. “It’s great. It’s a lovely time of year, it’s a great atmosphere every night and it’s always nice when your family is there as well at Christmas. I’m really looking forward to it.

“I have been there a few times now and the last time I was there I had a good show actually.

“I won three classes so that was a bit of a shock but this year it would be nice to have a good result in the World Cup, especially now I have got a few points there from Stuttgart.

“It would be nice to have a good result in that and then hopefully try and get a few more points and looking forward to qualifying for the final which is in April.

“There’s obviously all sorts of classes such as the Puissance and the Six Bar, but the main classes are the World Cup and the Grand Prix really and in the World Cup I’ll be on Fandango.

“To win those three classes that I won at Olympia last time was really good and that was when I was riding for Michael. I had a couple of nice horses at the time. But when I won those three classes it was really like the second and third supporting classes.

“You’d swap that any day for a good result in the World Cup or winning the World Cup.”

Whitaker is certainly going the extra mile in his bid for Olympia glory with the Yorkshireman having driven to London direct from Geneva where he competed at the weekend.

The Huddersfield ace will be joined at Olympia by long-term girlfriend Elisabeth Fredlund plus young children Bella and 
Oliver and admits, with Christmas just around the corner, a decent winning Olympia purse would be very welcome.

Whitaker said: “Olympia always seems to get you to keep trying that little bit harder.

“Whether it’s because it’s on home turf or because Christmas is coming up and there’s presents to buy, I don’t know what it is but everyone – especially the British – just seems to try that little bit harder when we get there.”

Not that success of any kind will be easy with Whitaker – joined in battle by Huddersfield-based half cousin Joe Clayton – admitting this week’s London event attracts the creme de la creme.

The show jumping begins tomorrow and Whitaker added: “Oympia always brings a lot of the best riders in the world, especially the British.

“Scott Brash has had a really good year – he’s been world No 1 for 12 months now so whenever he goes in the ring he’s a danger.

“Ben Maher’s there as well and they are both really good riders. My brother George will also be in the young riders’ class and he’s been going well as he’s just been getting a few nice horses again. He’s a good rider so as soon as he gets a good horse he’s back to winning ways. That’s how it is really.”

Riding the Sally McSharry-owned Tubana, George will join a strong Yorkshire contingent in the Under-23 section that concludes the 2014 Dodson & Horrell and the World Class Programme Under-23 British Championships. Also bidding for glory are Northallerton’s Laura Robinson on Nigel Marmont’s Archie Bunker, Beverley’s Scarlett Ward on Milena 8, owned by Peter Ward and Jill Willows, and Brough’s Olivia Dales on Arianna S, owned by Russ Underwood.

Charlotte Dujardin – nominated for the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Award – is the week’s star dressage attraction alongside Carl Hester.