Nick Skelton Leading Rider 2005

Nick Skelton swept the board at the 2005 British Show Jumping's Awards Ball on Tuesday, taking home four awards.

The Olympic silver medallist scooped British Show Jumping's top accolade, the 2005 Leading Rider Award as well as being voted Riders' Rider of the Year by the top 100 riders. Nineteen-year-old Ellen Whitaker was crowned Leading Rider Under 21.

The five-times World Champion broke his neck in a fall in September 2000 and was told he would never ride again. A miraculous recovery, enabled him to return to the saddle by April 2002. He went on to represent Britain in the Athens Olympics in 2004 and has now jumped in 141 British Nations Cup teams and won over £300,000.

The young Ellen Whitaker also captured the BSJA Members' Personality of the Year Award. Currently ranked 5th on the BSJA rankings Ellen is trained by her father Steven. She participated with Locarno in five Senior Nations Cup teams in 2005.