How to tell the story of the Legend that is John Whitaker
It was just under a year ago that Sarah Pharo embarked on an equestrian writer’s dream – telling the story of one of the world’s greatest ever showjumpers, John Whitaker.
Entitled ‘John Whitaker – The Legend’, the name of the book was apt given John’s illustrious and lengthy career, but it also belies the humility in the personality behind it. It took some time for Sarah, an equestrian writer, to convince John of the idea of having a biography written. “I think he had two reasons for not wanting to do it,” she said. “One was, believe it or not, he is so humble, that I don’t think that he really thought anybody would want to read it. That seems ridiculous, but I really believe that’s true.”
John, from Huddersfield, Yorkshire in the north of England, who at the age of 69 is still competing at the highest level of the sport, has no problem being a showman in the ring – the fancy dress outfits he pulled off with his peers Nick Skelton, Geoff Billington and his brother Michael are legendary. But behind the scenes he likes to spend time on his farm, with his family, his horses and his cattle. The second reason for being reticent about working on the biography, Sarah believes, was that it might prove disruptive to his relatively simple way of life.
“He’s very serious when he competes and when he’s home he really wants to unwind and be at home with his family,” Sarah said. “I think he was worried about me chomping around after him all the time. So I proposed that we met up online – which is something everyone got used to during Covid – and that was how it was structured. Every Monday or Tuesday, we had a two-hour Zoom call.”
The result of these conversations is out now in widespread circulation and proving very popular. The style of writing in the book is factual and simple. Sarah has not tried to mold the story, rather she has let it tell itself and it makes for a compelling read. John is not known for being loquacious and those who know him were impressed, not just by the book itself, but by the process of acquiring the information. “I’ve had quite a few people, including Geoff Billington and even his son Robert say to me, ‘how on earth did you get him to talk to you for two hours?’” Sarah said.
The truth was it didn’t happen overnight. “It was quite interesting how he changed over that period of time,” Sarah recalled of their weekly chats. “I think probably the first three or four weeks, I was doing more talking than he was. After that, it changed, and he really got into it. I think he really looked forward to the calls, because I think it was bringing back memories for him.”
Writing the story of a showjumping ‘legend’ comes with a requirement to do the subject justice. Sarah covers his entire career, while allowing his personality, approach to horsemanship, and general character to pervade the storyline.
“I’m so impressed with the way that he was brought up and continues to have this belief in the horse, his attitude to people, how he responds to people, how he can try to help people without a second thought,” she said. “He does have a very dry sense of humor. But he’s not unapproachable. You know, he’ll talk to anybody and try to help them with his patience and his knowledge if they have a problem with a horse. I wanted to bring out his personality and his character. I also wanted to try and bring out how he gets the most from horses. I don’t really want to call it his training methods, but his natural feel and his natural horsemanship, which isn’t something you can teach anybody.”
Sarah talked to John’s friends and family – his wife Clare, brothers Michael and Ian, son Robert and daughters Joanne and Louise – while researching the book. She also spoke to his peers. Many leading showjumpers have shared their thoughts on John and the biography and their interviews are published at the end of the story. USA leading rider McLain Ward is one of them and is quoted on the back cover saying: ‘If you’re worth your salt you should watch, listen and learn from John. Anyone who wants to become the best version of themself needs to read about this legend in our sport.’
Suffice to say he is not wrong.
The paperback book is available from Amazon at $24.99. A digital version of the book will be available to download, also from Amazon. Next spring there are plans to launch an audible version, which will also be available from Amazon.
For more details visit the website www.johnwhitakerthelegend.com
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