The first icons to take their place in the Hall of Fame were John Whitaker and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson from the world of showjumping, Louise Nathhorst as the first and so far only Swedish World Cup winner and the initiators Liz and Lasse Parmler (posthumously awarded). As the first unforgettable four-legged heroes, Milton and Walk on Top took their places in the Hall of Fame.
Showjumping:
The living legend, John Whitaker, who was only 23 years old in the spring of 1979 when he finished in fifth place with Ryan's Son in the first World Cup Final in history, which was held at Scandinavium. With the showjumping phenomenon Milton, he defended his title from the year before in the World Cup Final in Gothenburg 1991 and also won the Gothenburg Trophy, both in 1987 and 1990. He has also won over 20 European Championship, World Cup and Olympic medals, including individual European Championship gold in 1989.
Rolf Göran Bengtsson was the first Swede in the competition's then 20-year history to win the Gothenburg Trophy with Paradiso in 1996. He also won the same class again with Grandina in 2005. In 2011, Rolf-Göran was also the first Swede to win European Championship gold, and is the only Swede so far to top the world showjumping rankings. In addition, he has more World Cup qualifying victories than any other Swede, eight in total. He has also won two Olympic silver medals.
Dressage:
In 1998 in Gothenburg, Louise Nathhorst with Walk on Top was the only Swede so far to win a World Cup Final in dressage. At the final the year before, they took home the bronze. Louise and Walk on Top also won team bronze for Sweden in both the European Championships and World Championships. Louise also won two more team bronze medals in the European Championships and the Olympics with other horses. A seven-time Swedish champion who is currently a successful coach.
Personalities:
Liz and (posthumously) Lasse Parmler (1943-2017): were two of the key figures to create and later develop the Gothenburg Horse Show in 1997. It was in collaboration with Clarebergs Ridklubb and riding school, which they also established and ran. Lasse was the Gothenburg Horse Show’s first judge. He also participated in the international classes and commentated for SVT in their coverage of the competitions.
Horses:
Milton (John Whitaker) British sport horse. Won the Gothenburg Trophy in both 1987 and 1990. In 1990, he also won both the World Cup Final in Dortmund and the individual World Cup silver in Stockholm. The following year he defended his World Cup title by winning the final in Gothenburg. At the European Championships he won double gold in 1989, individual silver in 1987 and two more team gold medals. In 1991, he became the first showjumper to win more than a million pounds in prize money. Walk on Top (Louise Nathorst) Hanoverian. In 1998 in Gothenburg, Walk on Top and Louise were the only Swedish horse and rider so far to win a World Championship Final. They had won bronze in the final the year before, and that year were also part of Sweden's bronze medal winning team at the European Championships. She helped Sweden to win World Championship team bronze in 1998.
