Milton - the little white fairy horse that won the big events
Created | Updated Dec 5, 2003
THIS IS AN ENTRY PURELY INTENDED FOR GATHERING FACTS - ENTRY UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!
Colour:Grey
Breed: Dutch Warmblood
Gender:Gelding
Milton was bought as a newly weaned foal by Caroline Bradley, who rode and trained him until her tragic death in 1983. Substantial offers were made to Caroline’s parents for the spectacular jumper, but they resisted selling him abroad. Consequently, he represented England throughout his long and illustrious career.
Milton spent a short time with Stephen Hadley before joining John Whitaker’s yard, and they became an unforgettable pair. From 1985 to 1994, Whitaker partnered the grey to many international victories. He was the first horse outside of the racing world to win more than £1 million in prize money.
Milton had his own fan club, and even after his retirement at London’s Olympia show in 1994, he opened supermarkets, led parades, and was generally adored by his public. He survived a nearly fatal colic operation last year, which attracted nationwide press coverage.
Milton was buried on the Whitaker farm in Yorkshire.
Career highlights: Highlights include the fact that he won more than £1 million, two World Cups and a European championship
The FEI World Cup Final in 1990 and 1991, team gold medals at the European Championships in 1987 and 1989, the Individual gold medal in the 1989 European Championships, and the Individual silver medal at the 1990 World Championships
Milton var den mest fantastiska hopphäst som någonsin har funnits. Han älskade att hoppa och att visa upp sig, och publiken älskade honom. Han hade en sådan charm och karisma att alla blev trollbundna när han kom in på banan. Och om en icke hästinteresserad person skulle säga namnet på någon känd häst, så skulle det i de flesta fall bli MILTON. Så stor var, och är han.
'He was a once in a lifetime horse' said by John Whitaker
MILTON "döptes" från början till MARIUS SILVER JUBILEE. Marius efter pappan, Marius (holländsk hingst e: Marco Polo) en av CAROLINE BRADLEYS topphästar, resten av namnet efter året då han var född- det år man i England firade 25 års jubileet av drottning Elizabeths kröning, berättar MILTONS uppfödare John Harding. Namnet MILTON kommer från en by i CAROLINE BRADLEYS hemtrakt.
MILTONS mamma Aston Answer (ex Epauletta), var efter Any Questions (sju åttondels fullblod), hennes morfar var var fullblods hingsten Top Walk.
MILTON gjorde sin sista starti Glasgow i september 1994, där han blev tvåa. Han pesionerades vid 18 års ålder 1995. Sina största framgångar hade han mellan tom 1992. Fram till slutet av 1992 hoppade MILTON ihop totalt £1.088.562, från "blygsamma" £1.126 1984 till som mest 1989 då prissumman var £ 216.029. Detta oräknat alla bilar!
Det som vars å speciellt med MILTON under hans tävlingskarriar var hans jämnhet. I nationshoppningar t o m 1992 gjorde han 33 felfria rundor (inkl omhoppningar)-11 dubbelnollor- på 25 starter. I 35 starter i WC-kval var MILTON bland de fem främsta i 25 av dem!
OS: 14:e indv, 7:a i lag i BARCELONA-90
VM: silver indv, brons lag i stockholm-90
WC-FINALER: 5:a Paris -87, 8:a i Göteborg -88, 2:a i Tampa -89, 1:a i Dortmund -90, 1:a i Göteborg -91
EM: silver indv, guld lag i S:t Gallen -87, dubbelguld i Rotterdam -89, 5:a indv, silver i lag i La Baule -91.
SEGRAR I ÖVRIGA STORA TÄVLINGAR:
1986: GP i Birmingham, derbyt i Dinard, GP Calgary.
1987: GP i Göteborg, GP i Rotterdam, WC-klassen i New York.
1988: WC- klassen i Paris, GP i Dortmund, WC-kval i s´Hertogenbosch, Daily Mail Royal International Horse Show samt GP där, GP i Zyrich, Masters vid Horse of the Year Show, Masters i Stuttgart, GP i Stuttgart, WC- klassen i Bryssel.
1989: GP i Dortmund, WC- klassen i Genéve, GP i Cannes, European Classiv i Zyrich, Masters i Stuttgart, GP i Frankfurt.
1990: WC-klassen i Paris,WC- klassen i s´Hortenbosch, GP i Göteborg, Royal International Horse Show, King Georg the V Gold Cup, Masters vid Horse of the Year Show.
1991: GP i Hickstead, GP i Paris Porte de Versailles.
1992: GP i Bremen, Masters i Stuttgart, GP i Porte de Versailles
CAROLINE BRADLEY ville att hela hennes familj skulle veta om att hon trodde att MILTON (då varande SILVER MARIUS JUBILEE) Så hon köpte honom för ca £ 1000 vilket var mycket för ett föl på den tiden. Och som 6 måndaders fölunge gick han ned för rampen och ned på Carolines föräldrars gård. Det var början till hans fantastiska karriär, men som alla nog vet så fick CAROLINE aldrig se honom bli världsstjärna. CAROLINE red in honom själv, och lade grunden för honom. Som unghäst var han väldigt slarvig med sina framben, men var som väl var otroligt skicklig med sina bakben.
Miltons något tragiska historia började när han var sex år. CAROLINE dog på en tävling 1983 endast 37 år gammal och det var pga av en hjärtinfarkt. Hemma hos CAROLINES familj fanns det 29 hästar av vilka 11 var CAROLINES tävlings hästar. Föräldrarna sålde de flesta av hennes hästar, men behöll MILTON som ett minne av dottern. De ville att han skulle få en chans och bevisa att han var så bra som CAROLINE sagt, och tog kontakt med JOHN WHITAKER som var CAROLINES stora idol. Men John var just på väg ut på en 14 dagars tävlingsturne, och verkade inte särskillt intresserad av den lille MILTON, men eftersom John är en man av få ord så hade hans attityd misstolkats och därför hade en annan ryttare vid namn Steven Hadley fått MILTON.
MILTON GICK FRÅN KLARHET TILL KLARHET.
Steven Hadley hade erfarenhet nog att lotsa den lille ambitiösa MILTON från klarhet till klarhet, och snart slogs han med de bästa hästarna i landet. Man siktade in sig på jultävlingarna på OLYMPIA som en värdig avslutning på året, och då skulle han snyggas till lite, genom att klippas, men eftersom MILTON avskyr klippmaskiner och sprutor så sparkade han till så att en sena blev skadad.
EN ALLVARLIG SKADA
Först trodde man inte att skadan var så allvarlig, men efter det att CAROLINES gammla favorit vetrinär konstaterat att han måste operas så gjordes det, och hans konvalicens blev lång, ett drygt år.
Efter operationen fördes han tillbaka till CAROLINES föräldrar där han gick i en hage som var mycket kuperad, där han kunde bygga muskler och hålla sig igång. Det kom sig så att det alltid kom att vara en förtjocknad där, fast han till slut blev helt återställd.
EN NY CHANS FÖR JOHN WHITAKER.
Efter den långa konvalesensen så fick John en ny chans att ta hand om MILTON, John slösade inte med tiden den här gången utan kom och hämtade honom snabbt. Steven Hadley hade mist chansen med MILTON, men han kom på att det ändå var till det bättre, han hade börjat att avekla sin tävlingsverksamhet till förmån för att vara sportkomentator, och John var då en av Englands bästa ryttare- MILTON hade kommit rätt.
JOHN WHITAKER OCH MILTON
FICK 10 ÅR
PÅ TÄVLINGSBANORNA TILLSAMMANS.
Under 10 år kom John Whitaker att tävla den sagolika MILTON. Men MILTON var inte den lättaste att ha att göra med. Han var busig, full av liv och inte särskillt lätt att rida. Men på tävlingar gjorde han alltid sitt allra bästa.
- Det är som att köra Rolls-Royce, har John sagt vid otaliga tillfällen när han intervjuats om MILTON.
MILTON är den bästa häst jag någonsin har ridit.
JOHNS HÄSTAR GENOM TIDERNA:
John har haft många framgångsrika hästar under sin karriär, men det var RYANS SON som förde honom till strålkastarljuset, det var en häst som hade nästan lika stor kapacitet som MILTON. RYANS SON hade en mycket stor plats i JOHNS hjärta, han ägdes av JOHNS framtida svärfar.
RYANS SON- SOM EN FAMILJEMEDLEM.
Den mest tragiska händelsen i JOHNS liv var när han och RYANS SON gick omkull på väg nedför HICKSTEAD banken och RYANS SON dog av sina skador. För JOHN och CLAIR var det som att förlora en son, han var ju den häst som de alltid hade haft, och det var han som förde JOHN och CLAIR tillsammans.
1985 fick JOHN återigen erbjudande om att rida MILTON, men det tog ett antal månader att återuppbygga hans kondition, efter skadan. Redan då kände JOHN på sig att MILTON var något extra.
EN FANTASTISK KAPACITET.
När John äntligen fick börja hoppa MILTON kände han på en gång att han var fantastisk, och eftersom JOHN inte hade så många bra hästar att tävla på så tog han med sig MILTON till europa, man visste inte hur han skulle reagera på att byta miljö så där häftigt, men det visade sig att han var den ultimata tävlingshästen som tog varje miljöombyte med upphjöt lugn, det var dessutom som om att han visste att kamerorna var riktade mot honom.
A little history: John, who is 42 years old, is the oldest of Donald and Enid Whitaker's four sons. He and his brother Michael, who's 36, grew up riding pony after pony. This was how the boys developed their innate and already legendary talent on a wide variety of mounts, in local pony classes and gymkhanas. Donald Whitaker's purchase of Ryan's Son in 1973 started John off on what was to become an amazing career. He and the horse won Olympic, World, and European Championship medals. When Tom and Doreen Bradley offered John the ride on Milton, the horse so well produced by their daughter Caroline, he found his soul mate. In the most competitive era to date, no horse has surpassed the now retired grey gelding's scope, temperament, and all around ability and charisma. Milton was also the first horse to exceed a million pounds in winnings. Combined with John's sensitive hands, innate eye for a stride, and calm, laid-back approach, they became the world's most feared combination. Together, they won two World Cup finals in successive years (1990-1991) and in 1989, they won the European Championship. In 1998, he and Heyman helped win a team bronze at the World Championships. Brother Michael, meanwhile, has lots of accomplishments of his own. At the age of 20, he became the youngest winner ever of the Hickstead Derby on Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Fenwick's Owen Gregory. Since then, he's won three European team gold medals (1985, 1987, and 1989), and the individual silver at the 1995 European Championships at St. Gallen. He's now married to Veronique, a Belgian rider who happens to be great at flatwork and oh-so-conveniently gives all his horses their initial education.
A fabulous grey died earlier this week, one who, despite being burdened by various sponsors' prefixes, leapt his way to greatness...Milton.
Milton's millions mourn his passing IN due course, I shall be revealing one of the better-kept secrets of the horsey life, but bear with me. First of all, you must wade through a whole load of gush about a lovely big white horsey. It happens every now and then and probably more often than we deserve: we get a horse that is very very good and very, very white.
Grey, we are supposed to call it in horsespeak: which is like describing gold as yellow or Desert Orchid as nice. In particular, I want to celebrate a grey, grey horse called Milton, the showjumper whose picture was stuck on to the walls of a million girly bedrooms. More handsome than anything that merely sings and pouts. Milton jumped. Or, if you prefer, flew. He died this week, aged 22, of heart failure after an attack of colic, at the yard of John Whitaker, his partner in his greatest exploits. He was a fabulous horse all right - and I choose my words with care, because he was the sort of horse around which horsey myths and fables are concocted.
Showjumping was once one of the core sports of the British sporting curriculum and its champions were made BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Then came the prefixes and immediate public disenchantment. This was a horse known variously as Everest Milton, Next Milton and Henderson Milton, but if ever a horse was able to rise above such things, it was Milton. He rose above all the trashy things of the earth, it seemed, and cleared them without touching a pole.
These grey horses fill a need. Desert Orchid did so more than any horse since television made sport accessible to all: the one horse that we could all recognise, there at the front, gleaming and leaping.One Man followed, just as spectacular, just as recognisable, but not, alas, with us long enough to rival Dessie.
Silver Patriarch, second in the Derby two years ago, has a huge following, for all that he has never quite made the transition from excellence to greatness. There was a horse that ran in Hong Kong in the late Seventies and early Eighties, called Silver Lining. He won absolutely everything, looked like a punter's fantasy come to life and everywhere his hoof touched the earth, Hong Kong dollars sprouted and bloomed and tumbled ripe into happy punter's hands.
Milton was of this company: a grey both brilliant and dearly beloved. There is a horsey theory that claims that greys are always very very good or very very bad - and whichever old wife told that one, she was at least half right.
Milton's personal roll of honour is far too long to be repeated here. Highlights include the fact that he won more than £1 million, two World Cups and a European championship. He did not go to the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988, when he was at his peak. There was a lot of rumour and controversy about that one, which I shall not bother about now because it is an unworthy subject when we are here to celebrate a special beast.
Milton was brought through the lower ranks by Caroline Bradley, who died at 37 after suffering a heart attack in the course of a competition. After this terrible event, her parents, Doreen and Tom, sent the horse to Whitaker, who took him from the intermediate stages to the various peaks of his Himalayan career.
I met both Milton and Whitaker at the Yorkshire hillside wind-trap that Whitaker finds cosy, and there I learnt many things. Whitaker comes across on television as the cliché dour Yorkshireman - hard, uncompromising, possessed of very few words and still less inclination to use them.
It seemed to be a ludicrous paradox - grim, unsmiling old Whitaker riding the world's most flamboyant horse - but the fact is that they had perfect complementary personalities. Simply, it was a partnership that worked. Mainly, it worked because Milton was the best. And so is Whitaker. And being the best does not in fact mean hard and uncompromising. Au contraire. Whitaker let me into one his own secrets: forgiveness.
"You lose more than you win and you mustn't show the horse you're upset," he said. "You often see it, riders getting upset with their horse when it has had a fence down. Makes it worse. The horse doesn't know what he's done wrong." It was this generosity, combined with his quite extraordinary precision, that was Whitaker's contribution to the partnership. The rest - and, of course, the dominant part - was the horse's own athleticism and what showjumping people called "carefulness", his reluctance even to touch a pole.
It was Whitaker's naturally self-effacing qualities that allowed the horse to be so much himself and to outshine the rider in terms of charisma one hundred million times. Whitaker was content for the horse to be the star. Any genuine horseman revels in the sense of privilege in riding a very special horse.
And as Milton passed, or rather swaggered and curvetted, from prize to prize, from achievement to achievement, from peak to peak, so he left a trail of love in his wake. He excited a gushing, quite unrestrained love, especially in that part of the horsey British public that never sets a hand on a horse. For each of Milton's fans, Milton was theirs. They had the joys of ownership, of total partisanship, of awed privilege in being allowed to share in his triumphs.
It was said that Milton always rose to the crowds and basked in their admiration, which is a little too anthropomorphic to ring quite true, but certainly, like every great competition horse, Milton responded to the extraordinary demands and atmosphere of tension and excitement that is part of all public competition in any form of sport.
He was one of those horses with a million owners, one of those horses able to inform the unhorsey of what it is like to be involved with a horse. And they put Extra Strong Mints in parcels and wrote birthday cards, all the things that happen when a horse seizes the public imagination. The fact is that most people in horse ownership own one, or at most two, or maybe a share.
And here comes the secret. And it is the ultimate secret of the horsey life. Every single horse is Milton. Every owner feels that partisanship, that privilege. About every horse, there is a little bit of Pegasus. And we who know the individual know all his flaws and his failings and all the good bits as well. And it is not an idealisation or a fantasy, but a day-to-day reality, a responsibility, an encumbrance, a disappointment, an elation, a vehicle for dreams, a companion in daily life, a co-conspirator in the world of flight. A partner.
Every horse is Milton; every horse can be hell at times - and every horse is also Paradise Regained.
As published in the London Times, July 10, 1999 sent in by a HorseQuest.com member.
