We pay tribute to Jon Doney, a highly-respected FEI official and an important part of Hickstead's team for many years
A new class has been added to the schedule at this year's Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting. On Sunday, a few hours before the Al Shira’aa Derby itself, qualified riders will come forward for the Doney Championship, a 1.20m class held in honour of our former President of the Ground Jury, Jon Doney. It is a fitting tribute for a man whose life revolved around showjumping, who loved fostering talent, who played a big role in making Hickstead such a success.
Two years ago, early in the Covid-19 pandemic, when events were being cancelled and entire countries were going into lockdown, devastating news reached us that Jon had succumbed to the virus. He had been such an important part of the Hickstead team, and tributes immediately came from the Bunn Family, fellow officials and countless riders.
“Jon was such a special person and an invaluable member of the team,” says Hickstead Director Lizzie Bunn. “Aside from his obvious brilliance as a course designer and judge, his planning and attention to detail was second to none, and his knowledge of the rule book was encyclopaedic. He loved Hickstead and all its traditions, and he was in his element holding court with the foreign judges and officials – usually with a glass of white wine in hand! We miss him terribly.”
Jon Francis Doney was born on January 29th 1949, and he grew up in Stroud in Gloucestershire. He hailed from a horsey family, with his mother Beryl and sister Jackie both keen competitors – but while Jon was happy to build courses for his sister at home, he wasn’t always keen on being dragged off in the horsebox all day to various shows! He used to hunt with the Duke of Beaufort, but never competed himself, once telling British Showjumping magazine that he realised he was never going to be good enough, and nor did he want to be shown up by his far more talented family members.
Jon had left school and was already working in his father’s carpentry shop when he was introduced to Pam Carruthers at Ascot Show – a meeting that was to shape the course of his life and career. Pam was a pioneer in the course designing world, and had been instrumental in developing Hickstead alongside our founder, Douglas Bunn.
Pam was to prove to be a superb mentor. While he’d never sought out success in the show ring as a rider, Jon quickly fell in love with the design and technical side of showjumping. After his initial course design training with June Nuttall, his father arranged for him to come to Hickstead to assist Pam at various high profile international shows. For his 21st birthday present, Jon's parents paid for him to go to New York, Washington and Toronto with Carruthers, cementing his passion for working in the sport. “From there quite literally the world became his oyster, and instilled in him was Pam’s attention to detail,” says Nick Brooks-Ward, who had known Jon very well.
From those early days assisting at Hickstead, sleeping in his car and earning just £5 per week, Jon would go on to officiate at countless shows in Britain and abroad, including HOYS, Olympia, Badminton, Burghley and Royal Windsor. But the All England Jumping Course always remained special to him throughout his illustrious career. When Pam retired after 30 years of service, Jon took over from her as Chief Course Designer here, a position he held for many years until his switch to the judges’ box following a hugely successful European Championships in 1999.
It is a measure of how highly regarded Jon was that he was asked to be the course designer for the FEI World Equestrian Games in The Hague in 1994, the first of many championships he was to officiate at. “He was instrumental in changing the design of fences to represent the region and country – his bicycle fence, now seen at Spruce Meadows, is probably the most influential fence in showjumping,” adds Nick Brooks-Ward. “That one fence has cost more riders more money than any other.”
Alongside working as a course designer, Jon had also qualified as a judge. Deciding to become more extensively involved in the officiating side, he started climbing the FEI ladder to become one of just six course directors in the world, a top-level international judge and technical delegate.
Jon’s extensive CV included three FEI World Equestrian Games, and a further three FEI European Championships - San Patrignano, Windsor and Aachen. He officiated at five Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Finals in Barcelona, and two FEI World Cup Finals. After officiating at his first Olympics in Seoul in 1998, Jon was a member of the Ground Jury at the London 2012 Games. He was extremely honoured to have been appointed by the FEI as President of the Ground Jury for the Tokyo Olympics, although sadly this was not to be.
After his death, a statement from British Showjumping confirmed how much the honour had meant to Jon: “He very much saw the appointment as being the pinnacle of his career to date. His commitment to ensuring he was fully prepared for the role was clearly evident to all that knew him, and he would have without doubt delivered it superbly.”
Jon was the only person in the world to hold O status (to officiate at either an Olympic Games or World Championship) as a Course Designer, Technical Delegate and Judge. He was immensely honoured when he was awarded an MBE for his services to equestrianism in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June 2014.
Jon gave an extraordinary amount of time to our sport in a huge number of ways. From its base at Aldershot, he ran the British Showjumping Jump Store for more than 30 years. He was selected as one of the initial Judge and Course Designer mentors in 1999 when the programme was first founded, he was on the National Sport Committee, and he delivered the Judges’ and Course Designers’ national pathway programme for British Showjumping before going on to assist the FEI with their international programme. During Jon’s career he mentored a great many officials, many of whom have gone on to have successful careers of their own.
The FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez paid tribute to a man who played such an important role within international competition: “He was phenomenally experienced in all his roles and officiated at an incredible number of top-level events. He will be remembered for all that, but also for his talent as a great raconteur that would have all around him rocking with laughter. He was such a charismatic and cherished member of the FEI Family and we will miss him enormously.”
This year, with crowds returning to Hickstead for the first time in two years, we will pause for a moment to remember a man who was such an important part of Hickstead, who will be so sadly missed this week. Jon would have loved officiating at the 60th Hickstead Derby, having witnessed so many great Derby moments during his long career.
Jon travelled the world extensively to officiate at the equestrian world’s biggest events, once even travelling to Australia for just one day! But he was always happiest at home in Gloucestershire with his beloved wife Mary and their dogs.
Jon will be remembered for his incredible knowledge, and his excellent company. “His unbelievable generosity and persuasive nature drew us all to him,” recalls Nick Brooks-Ward. “He was the greatest of hosts, either in his caravan at shows or at his home in Bredon. He never stopped thinking, and it was his persuasive and generous nature that we all came to love and adore. To the thousands of judges, course designers and officials that he helped all around the world, to the shows that he advised and encouraged, and to the riders that respected him wherever he went, he was the wisest of heads with the most wonderful self-deprecating sense of humour.”
Jon Doney, 1949-2020.
This article was first published in June 2022
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