ONE of Ireland's most celebrated showjumpers, Tommy Wade, has passed away at the age of 80.
The Irish equestrian community is in mourning today for the Tipperary man who suffered a stroke last week.
According to The Irish Field, he passed away in the early hours of this morning at the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork.
He won Nations Cup and Grands Prix all over the globe while riding the great Dundrum throughout the 1960’s.
Wade won all five international classes at the 1963 Dublin Horse Show and was part of the victorious Aga Khan team.
After his retirement, he became Irish show jumping chef d’equipe and guided the team to 30 Nations Cup victories, a gold medal at the European Championships in 2001 and at the World Equestrian Games in 2002.
Wade is also the only equestrian sportsperson to have been inducted into the Irish Sports Hall of Fame.
He is survived by his wife Felicity, daughter Maria and sons Robert, Alan and Ronan.
RIP Tommy Wade. A true sporting legend pic.twitter.com/hq0L0S07tm
— Lucinda Creighton (@LCreighton) May 14, 2018
Very sad to learn of the passing of showjumping legend Tommy Wade. Sincere condolences to his family. In Michael Slavin’s book, Irish Showjumping Legends, he wrote; ‘’Tommy thought, dreamed and schemed about being first and he usually was.’’Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam #louthchat pic.twitter.com/JAZmeTXEdz
— Darragh Equestrian 🏇 (@DarraghEquestri) May 14, 2018
