Equestrianism: Whitaker victorious on veteran Kanselier

Ellen Whitaker and the wonderfully consistent 17-year-old Kanselier took yesterday's Vinopolis Speed Horse of the Year title on the closing day of the Horse of the Year Show at the NEC Birmingham.

The veteran was narrowly defeated on Friday, but this time he held off all comers to win from Ireland's Cian O'Connor. Whitaker, 23, had also claimed Saturday night's Puissance in which she and Ladina were the only pair to clear the big wall at 7ft 1in. Last year Ellen had finished joint second behind her cousin, Robert Whitaker.

This time the places were reversed when he finished among the runners-up. Nick Skelton suggested that he was heading back to the very top of the ladder with his two wins on Saturday – one in the six-year-old championship with the hugely impressive Big Star, the other with the ever improving