Horse & Country Presents Hickstead: 60 Glorious Years

Horse & Country TV (H&C) is proud to present an exclusive documentary, Hickstead: 60 Glorious Yearsfeaturing the showground, the family behind it, and some of the legends of showjumping who have graced the world-famous arena.

Produced by Hickstead and narrated by Daisy Bunn, daughter of the legendary founder, Douglas Bunn, Hickstead: 60 Glorious Years offers the ultimate insider’s view. The hour-long programme features insights from members of the Bunn family and the team who have built Hickstead over the years.  Interviews with legends David Broome, Eddie Macken, Nick Skelton, Laura Kraut and John Ledingham underline how important Hickstead has been to the development of showjumping both in the UK and worldwide, and just how much Hickstead has meant to them and their careers.

Speaking for the current generation of riders, William Whitaker reflects on his own Hickstead Derby victory, and the challenge thrown down by his uncles, John and Michael, with eight wins between them. William also reflects ruefully on his fear of having to call Lizzie Bunn when one of the ears on the trophy disappeared during his own celebrations.

Douglas’s second wife Sue recounts how she and Douglas used their own trips to venues around Europe to secretly measure the fences they wanted to replicate back home, and tells the extraordinary story of why the Hickstead Derby Bank is 18” higher than its equivalent in Hamburg.

Looking beyond showjumping, the Bunn family recount how dressage, showing, and polo, among many other disciplines, have been integrated into Hickstead over the years making it one of the most versatile and multi-faceted venues in the world. And finally, there’s a look ahead to what the next 60 years hold for this extraordinary venue and the family who created it.

Hickstead: 60 Glorious Years is on H&C+. It premieres on Sunday 28^th June at 8pm and can be viewed on-demand thereafter. To find out more visit horseandcountry.tv

Suzanne Ashton

Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.