British rider takes the lead on day one of European Showjumping Championships: ‘I couldn’t be more proud’

Great Britain’s Donald Whitaker has taken the lead on day one of the European Showjumping Championships in Spain.

Riding the brilliant grey mare Millfield Colette, 32-year-old Donald produced a superb clear, executed at a great pace that put them top of the leaderboard at the midway stage of Wednesday’s opening speed leg.

“Matt Sampson did a fantastic round – he did everything perfect in my opinion – so I just thought, if I do the same as him, she’s so fast anyway, she’ll do the rest,” explained Donald, who finished clear in a time of 75.27sec, well over a second clear of his closest rival. “So I just tried to focus on doing the right numbers and the right distances.

“Millfield Colette always feels amazing – she goes in there like a panther. She knows what she’s doing and she wants to win, even more than I do! She just wants to run and jump – her happiest place is in the ring,” he said of the 12-year-old Cornet Obolensky mare, who is looked after by Brigita Unciūtė.

“There’s still a long way to go but I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

European Showjumping Championships: plenty of options

Speaking about the 1.50m track set by Santiago Varela on day one of the European Showjumping Championships, Donald said: “There are quite a few options, like the inside turn to the wall. Obviously you’ve got to take as many chances as possible while also taking a bit of care – it just depends on how much risk you want to take. Obviously it’s the European Showjumping Championships, so you want to try your best.”

Donald also added that having the likes of Scott Brash and Ben Maher alongside him on the British team made him up his game at these European Showjumping Championships.

“You have to stick your chest out and make sure you don’t make a mistake!” he said. “It’s a great feeling representing your country.”

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