The tragic story behind Skeltons’ gallop to glory
NICK SKELTON inspired a nation when he won Olympic Gold in Rio last year at 58.
This week his sons Dan and Harry will be hoping to champion the Skelton legacy at the Cheltenham Festival.
National Hunt trainer Dan, 31, had his first Festival winner last year with Superb Story, ridden by his 27-year-old younger brother Harry.
‘The boys winning at Cheltenham last year was as big a highlight as winning in Rio,’ says Nick. ‘Dan’s only been training three seasons and to win it as a family with Harry riding made it so emotional.’
For Harry and Dan, their dad is their biggest inspiration. ‘I’m immensely proud of him,’ says Harry. ‘Winning Gold proved to me that if you work hard, you can achieve what you want. I want to do well in my career for myself but it’s more for him. It is how we can give something back. Because everything he has achieved he has put back into us two.’
‘It’s very much a family operation,’ adds Nick. ‘The racing is their business and I don’t interfere. But when I’m at home, I’ll join them on the gallops and sometimes help to improve the way a horse jumps. I love going, it is relaxation for me.’
Nick bought the land and built the facilities that house the 140 horses. ‘He built it all,’ says Dan, who was assistant trainer for Paul Nicholls before starting his yard with just 12 horses.
‘I remember walking around here four years ago and it was just green land and we planned it together. Having been at Ditcheat with Paul Nicholls, I remember saying to dad: “It’s not a big enough hill”. Then I thought, well, hang on, Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott do it on a flat gallop. We used the experience I had and the experience dad had with horses and Harry’s input as well to build the yard and it’s worked out well.’
Nick’s father David, who still comes to the gallops every morning at the age of 86, was a chemist with just one shop in Bedworth. As a boy Nick went to local gymkhanas before going to work for showjumper Ted Edgar.
‘When he set up by himself, dad was always under financial pressure to sell his best horses to pay the bills,’ Dan adds.
‘These were horses that might have produced more gold medals and because he made these financial calls he’s put us in the position to concentrate on winning trophies rather than just paying bills ... although he’s instilled it in me to keep the wheels turning and I’ve not taken a pound out of the business in four years.
‘The most important thing for us is that what we were given, we really utilised.’
Dan challenges the opinion that it was all handed to him on a plate. ‘It’s the silver spoon syndrome,’ he says. ‘We’ve got a good defence for nepotism because that is one of the cornerstones of racing. I don’t have any qualms about it but at the end of the day it’s breeding. My brother is a good rider, I am a good trainer — why not team up? I can make a credible case the silver spoon does not exist. This set-up wasn’t done with borrowing, it was grafted for. ‘This is all that dad has, this is his pension and he’s put it all in to help us get up and go. More credit should be given to him for his actions. We did get all we needed. But we made sure we didn’t make a balls of it.’ The Skelton story is all the more remarkable because Dan and Harry suffered a challenging childhood. ‘Mum had a massive problem with drink and it was hugely destructive,’ reveals Dan. ‘It was tough as kids because we spotted it and banged the drum and no one believed us. She wasn’t a bad person and tried her best, she just had a problem. In the end it was what got her.’ The boys went to live with their father. ‘For whatever reason in the end, she didn’t think she could cope anymore or we knew too much and therefore we were becoming unmanageable so we moved back down with Dad. I was about 13 and Harry was nine,’ says Dan.
‘It was a bad end. I remember the horsebox picked me up from school, mum wasn’t in it. Two hours later, with our ponies on and all our stuff, we were off to Dad’s. That was it for our lives with our mum. ‘It was a sad time but Dad always reminded us that everyone has problems and ours wasn’t the only one in the world.
‘She ended her days in a hospice. She died very early in the morning and me and Harry, who was working for Paul at the time as well, were back at work in the afternoon. What else do you do? We just wanted to go forwards — you learn from these things in life and you kick on.’
Nick believes the experience of Sarah’s loss made them all stronger people and brought the family closer.
‘Dan was amazing,’ he says. ‘He used to look after Harry when I was away but we were together most of the time and we brought each other up in a way. The boys always came to all the shows with me when they were on school holidays. I think one of the reasons Dan is so wise about life is because he had to be a man before his years.’
Nick only rides his Olympic horse Big Star in competitions but the day job means extensive travelling around the world to train riders and horses. At present he spends more time abroad than he does at his Warwickshire home next to Dan’s Lodge Hill Stables.
‘We speak on the phone every day though,’ he explains. ‘I never miss a race. Even if I am half way across the world, I will watch it on my phone and then speak to Dan and Harry after.’
Nick is still dining out on the Olympic success, with a CBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours and a lucrative sponsorship deal with Land Rover. But he says: ‘Life is back to normal, though people still congratulate me, which reminds me of what an achievement it was.’
As retirement from competition beckons, the family are looking forward to spending more time together. Nick loves spending time with granddaughter Flo (Dan’s daughter with his wife, Grace). ‘At home, I’m always with her and I like to take her riding.’
So three generations and at least four members of the Skelton dynasty will be at the Festival, where Dan may have 15 horses running. Superb Story is out injured but Dan claims to have the most exciting string of horses yet.
‘North Hill Harvey has a great chance and I’m excited about Mister Miyagi in the Coral Cup,’ says Dan. ‘Then Ch’tibello in the Champion Hurdle could be in the shake-up following a procedure on his breathing. I have a good bumper horse, Cause Toujours, and one that dad owns part of called Tommy Rapper.’