The 2022 Horse & Hound Lifetime Achievement award went to a true equestrian legend – and one of the greatest sportsmen in the world.
In an outstanding career more than three decades long, showjumper David Broome represented Great Britain at five Olympic Games and won five world and seven European championship medals. He also claimed six King George titles on six different horses, the Hickstead Derby and numerous grands prix on a string of horses who became household names alongside their rider – Sunsalve, Mr Softee, Countryman, Sportsman and Philco to name just a few.
The farmer’s son from Cardiff became a national hero; he was flag-bearer at the 1972 Olympics, the first Brit to become showjumping world champion and a three-time European champion.
He was only 20 when he was voted sports personality of the year in 1960, when Sunsalve was brought into the TV studio, and in 2007 he received a “national treasure” award from Alan Titchmarsh’s ITV show. For his outstanding contribution to the sport, David was appointed OBE in 1970, and CBE in 1995.
“This year’s Horse & Hound Lifetime Achievement Award winner competed in a golden age for showjumping, and he acquired so much of the silverware on offer during those incredible three decades,” said H&H editor-in-chief Sarah Jenkins.
“With a list of achievements as long as your arm, and a public following any of today’s riders would envy, could there be a more appropriate winner of this accolade? David has always been a wonderful supporter of Horse & Hound, as well as to those coming up through the ranks of showjumping. He is a true legend of the sport and we are honoured to give him this award.”
David Broome receiving the Horse & Hound Lifetime Achievement award from Sarah Jenkins at the Horse & Hound Awards 2022, in partnership with NAF.
David retired from competition in the early 1990s but has remained involved in the sport; serving as British Showjumping president, and his family runs the David Broome Event Centre, a superb competition venue opened in 1968 at their Mount Ballan Manor estate in Crick, Monmouthshire.
The fact he remains one of the world’s best known and successful showjumpers is testimony to his extraordinary talent and heroic achievements in the saddle, as well as the fact he is a thoroughly lovely person, always generous with his time and valued opinions. David Broome, a true legend.
Don’t miss next week’s edition of H&H magazine (8 December) for the full report on all the winners.
You might also be interested in:
David Broome recalls the great Mister Softee: ‘the thrill of riding him is still with me’
David Broome’s Hickstead Derby memories: ‘I swear blind the bank disappeared back underneath you’
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