Nick Skelton and Big Star on their way to a gold medal at the 2026 Rio Olympic Games. Image by Eric Knoll.
Films about real-life showjumping horses are rare. Back in the 1960s there was The Horse with the Flying Tail about Hugh Wiley’s Nautical; in 2013 a French feature based on Jappeloup, then Harry and Snowman made a few years later. Now, there is Big Star – the Nick Skelton Story.
‘BIG STAR: THE NICK SKELTON STORY’ – 2025
Directed by Sarah George
The film poster for ‘Big Star: The Nick Skelton Story’ (2025). Image supplied.
“There wasn’t a dry eye
in the stands… Many of
this film’s viewers will
react in the same way!”
Big Star – the Nick Skelton Story is an engaging documentary that tells the story of one of the world’s most decorated equestrians and his Dutch warmblood stallion.
Nick Skelton, the son of a chemist, was born in Warwickshire, England, in 1957. He saw little point in going to school and left at 15 to work for horseman Ted Edgar, a hard taskmaster who he was with for 12 years before going out on his own.
Australian Olympic showjumper and coach George Sanna remembers him in the Cotswolds. “He was working for Ted Edgar who was a bully. Horses really jumped for Nick – they really got off the ground. He could ride anything. And, what applies to many high-level sports people, he was a risk taker – and he went fast.”
Over the ensuing decades Nick competed in seven Olympic Games, earned 16 European and World Championship medals, a World Cup title and millions in prize money. He broke records, a few hearts and a whole bunch of bones.
Filming took place in Warwickshire; Wellington, Florida and Peelbergen in the Netherlands. Image supplied.
BROKEN NECK TO OLYMPIC GOLD
When he snapped his neck in a bad fall, doctors advised him to quit the sport. Two years later he was back in the saddle. He won Olympic gold twice, first in London in 2012 then at Rio 2016 with a replacement hip. As someone notes in this documentary: “Nick has more titanium in his body than a Space Shuttle.”
His equine partner at these Games was Big Star (aka Henry) which in 2008 had been discovered by US Olympian Laura Kraut, who has been in a relationship with Nick since the early 2000s.
She had spotted him as a five-year-old being jumped by Alan Waldman and recognised the horse’s international potential. After Nick assessed him his long-time UK sponsors, Gary and Beverley Widdowson, bought the stallion from Dutch dealer Egbert Schep – the rest is history.
The couple, who made their fortune in the metal recycling business, have always refused enormous offers from around the world. Big Star has remained in England, proving himself as a breeding sire.
During his competition years ‘Henry’ sustained several injuries which could have put him permanently out of the picture. The documentary highlights the dedication of Mark Beever, who played a vital role in the horse’s recovery. This talented, skilful groom literally rehabbed Big Star back into the limelight to win in Rio.
ROYAL WINDSOR RETIREMENT
The following year at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, Nick and his stallion retired from showjumping – there wasn’t a dry eye in the stands. Many of this film’s viewers will react in the same way!
Sarah George, based in Hollywood, directed and produced the movie after her creative team was presented with the story by Debbie Burrows, wife of an award-winning US television director James Burrows. (His stepdaughter, Paris Sellon, is a showjumping international.)
“We were immediately hooked by the incredible double comeback of this horse and rider,” Sarah George tells Equestrian Life. “Skelton trusted Debbie and thought a doco would be good for the sport. He was very engaged in the process and made sure to give me an earful if I got anything wrong!”
Behind the scenes filming of ‘Big Star: The Nick Skelton Story’ (2025). Image supplied.
Filming took place in Warwickshire; Wellington, Florida and Peelbergen in the Netherlands.
“Everyone we interviewed was really generous with their time,” continues Sarah. “There’s always too much material to fit into a film and we had a tough time deciding what to cut, especially given Nick’s many great horses and decades of competition.”
As well as family members and sporting colleagues there is an interview with Bruce Springsteen and his wife Patti Scialfa. The millionaire musicians are close friends of Skelton who they credit with being an inspiring coach to their daughter, Jessica, a US Olympic silver medallist.
“Nick is a rock star,” states Patti, who sings one of her songs over the closing titles.
A major challenge for the filmmakers was accessing some important old footage. “We couldn’t find any photos or videos of the accident when Nick broke his neck, so we had to re-create that with a different horse and rider,” explains Sarah.
“Also, because Nick has retired from riding – but not coaching – and Big Star is at stud, we only had a limited opportunity to film them together. Luckily, we could lean into archival material which brings their dynamic partnership to life!”
Nick Skelton at the Dartmouth Films screening in Windsor. Image supplied.
Three-time Olympian and film critic Vicki Roycroft reviews Big Star:
“As a passionate horse person who knows a lot of people from that era, I loved it!
“It’s hard watching it during the day when I should be doing other things, but my thinking is: was it a bit too long? In my opinion it should have ended after the Rio gold medal. I also found the commentary from Bruce Springsteen and wife a bit twee, but maybe it would appeal to the less horsey viewers and the US audience.
“Great thing for me was learning about Nick’s early life as there was much I didn’t know. Got to know him quite well in the mid-eighties when I was in Europe with Apache and, subsequently, Mickey Mouse, so I really enjoyed watching the show footage old and new, and particularly his record high jump on Lastic in the early part of the doco – I’d never seen that entire coverage before.
“I loved the commentary from other riders such as the two Whitaker boys, Ian Millar, Rodrigo Pessoa, Kent Farrington etc and, of course, Laura Kraut, all of whom I’ve had a bit to do with over the years.”
“Big Star was the best horse I have ever ridden.”
Big Star: The Nick Skelton Story is distributed by Dartmouth Films and is available on the Apple TV store – running time 102 minutes.
Horses & Movies has featured other showjumping films in Equestrian Life over the years, such as Jappeloup in 2021, Harry and Snowman in 2022 and The Horse with the Flying Tail in 2023.
Next time in Horses & Movies, King Arthur(2004) starring Clive Owen, Joel Edgerton and Mads Mikkelsen. EQ
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