Robert James Skelton MBE (28 December 1934 – 19 August 2016) was a New Zealand jockey who competed from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Among his many major race wins, Skelton rode Great Sensation to three victories in the Wellington Cup in 1961-63 and won the Auckland Cup on Rose Mellay in 1974 and again in 1977 on Royal Cadenza.
In 1976, he rode Van der Hum to victory in Australia's most prestigious race, the Melbourne Cup, and ten years later rode Rising Fear into second place in the 1986 Cup.
In the 1978 Queen's Birthday Honours, Skelton was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to horse racing as a jockey.
Following his riding career he took up training and was fortunate to train and own with friends a little mare (14.2 hands) called Oregon Seal who won 9 races including the Tesio Stakes.