Olympic hero Skelton prepares for emotional retirement

OLYMPIC showjumping champion Nick Skelton admits he will miss winning as he prepares for an emotional retirement at the Royal Windsor Horse Show on Sunday.

Skelton and his Rio Olympics gold medal ride Big Star will formally bow out at a public ceremony in the show's Castle Arena, in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen.

It is a fitting way for the 59-year-old, who lives near Alcester, to exit a sport that has seen him win two Olympic golds, a World Championship silver medal and four bronzes, plus three European golds, three silver and three bronze.

He was also a mainstay of British Nations Cup teams and won grands prix all over the world, in addition to three Hickstead Derby triumphs and four victories in the King George V Gold Cup.

But it was aboard the brilliant stallion Big Star, who will be retired to stud, that Skelton enjoyed his greatest triumph, delivering a showjumping masterclass under intense pressure in Rio last August.

"Normally, there is a circumstance why you retire or why your horse retires," Skelton told Press Association Sport.

"And having been able to make that decision on my terms is why I am okay with it. I have been in control of doing it."

Skelton recovered from a broken neck in 2000, returning to the saddle barely two years later, before ultimately achieving his number one ambition of an Olympic individual title, which cemented his status among showjumping's all-time greats.

"I thought going to Rio with Big Star, if I was lucky enough to get there, I was sitting on the best horse - there was no doubt about that," he added.

"To me, I was at an advantage. I completely trusted that horse. He has never let me down.

"He is just so intelligent, allied with tremendous ability. He jumped those courses in Rio like they were 1.30-metre courses. It is an amazing feeling being sat on a horse like him.

"When we bought him, we said then he was definitely an Olympic horse. He was only five years old, but you could see his potential, it was just then about getting the experience.

"He was only nine at London 2012 (where Skelton was part of the Great Britain line-up that won team gold), but he did it so easily. He never spooks, and he just walks straight into the arena every time. Nothing has ever bothered him.

"Big Star has been the horse of a lifetime. I don't think you will ever see the likes of him again. He has been an absolutely amazing horse and a pleasure to ride. I have been very, very lucky to have him."

Skelton will continue working with young horses at his base near Alcester in Warwickshire, while also closely following the fortunes of his sons - racehorse trainer Dan and National Hunt jockey Harry.

"Rio still feels like it was yesterday," he said. "And the thing I am going to miss most is the winning, no doubt about that.

"It is going to be a big weekend at Windsor, but I have thought it all through and as time has gone on, I have come to accept the outcome.

"Having made the decision (to retire) in March, Royal Windsor was the obvious place to do it. The show has grown so much, and I didn't want to leave it until the middle of the season or end of the season.

"I've had a good innings."