Nick Skelton awarded Queen’s Honour

British show jumping star Nick Skelton has today been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to equestrian sport.

Nick, who recently won the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix on Big Star in Hamburg, spoke of his delight about the official recognition of his long career at the top of international show jumping.

Speaking at the Global Champions Tour event in Cannes only hours before the Grand Prix he said: “It is a great honour. I am really chuffed with it and very happy to receive this award. It was a shock and I am really pleased.”

The 54-year-old rider, who has won more than 2,000 classes and over £6.5 million in prize money, said: “It has been an honour riding for Great Britain over the years and the announcement of the Queen’s Honour today is great.”

Nick has represented his country at five Olympic Games and is expected to be riding for Great Britain again this summer in London. Despite breaking his neck after a terrible fall in 2000, Nick recovered to ride at the top-level again and is a hugely respected figure on the global show jumping scene.

Global Champions Tour President Jan Tops said: “I send my congratulations to Nick for his Honour. He is a great ambassador for our sport and a great rider over the past 35 years. He is consistently at the top of the sport and even came back after a bad injury to be competing at the highest level in the world. Only top athletes can do things like that.”

An exclusive interview with Nick will be published on the GCT website at the Global Champions Tour show in Monaco at the end of June.

The Queen’s Birthday Honours List is published by the British Government each year and recognises achievements in a wide variety of areas of public life from charity work to the arts, sport and business. Today’s list includes Honours for the actress Kate Winslet and director and actor Kenneth Branagh.