The British Jumping Derby meeting – known for sponsorship reasons as the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby Meeting – is an annual showjumping event held since 1961 at the Hickstead in June every year. It is considered one of the premier events in the equestrian calendar.[1] [2] [3]
A highlight of the meeting is the Al Shira'aa Derby, a 1,195-metre course with tricky jumps including the aptly named Devil's Dyke – three fences in short succession with a water-filled ditch in the middle and the difficult Derby Bank, a jump with 3 ft 5in rails on top and a 10 ft 6in slope down the front.[4] [5]
The main arena is used for a number of classes throughout the meeting (and at the Royal International Horse Show amongst others), but the main Derby class always follows the same class, consisting of the following fences of 21 jumping efforts:[5]
| Fence name | Height | Width | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The Cornishman | 4feet | Solid stone wall with a pole | ||
| 2. white oxer | 4feet | 6feet | ||
| 3. a.& b. double water ditches | 5feet & 5feet | |||
| 4. black gate | 5feet | maximum height fence for the course, upright and falls easily | ||
| 5. wall | 5feet | |||
| 6. privet hedge oxer | 4feet | 6feet | ||
| 7. a. & b. road jump | 5feet and 5feet | table fence with no exit except over jumps | ||
| 8. Derby Bank | 10feet drop with 3feet high fence before | iconic obstacle of the course. fence 16 ft from main drop which horses must slide down | ||
| 9. white rails | 5feet | two strides from bottom of bank | ||
| 10. a., b. & c. Devil's Dyke | 4feet, 4feet, 4feet | closed obstacle, but sloping ground increases apparent fence height to near 6feet | ||
| 11. open water | 15feet | |||
| 12. Derby rails | 5feet | |||
| 13. open ditch | 5feet | 6feet | ||
| 14. balustrades | 5feet | |||
| 15. a. & b. double of gates | 4feet, 4feet | 5feet | ||
| 16. rustic spread | 4inchesft10inchesin (ftin) | 6inchesft6inchesin (ftin) |
The results of the main British Jumping Derby class at the show are as follows:
Marion Coakes when she won the Derby in 1967 on Stroller. Five riders have won the Hickstead Derby four times apiece - Eddie Macken, Harvey Smith, John Whitaker, Michael Whitaker and William Funnell. In 2020 and 2021, the Hickstead Derby did not run because of the Coronavirus pandemic.Title sponsors in recent years have included furniture retailer DFS, floor and bed furnishing retailer carpetright and online retailer Equestrian.com. The current title sponsors are Al Shira'aa, who have signed a three-year deal as title sponsor of the event, now known as the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby meeting.
Ireland
United Kingdom
Brazil