THE Dublin Horse Show for many is a time for catching up with old friends. One man that will be missed by many at this year’s show is the late Tom Moloney. Tom passed away in June of this year and he will be sadly missed by family and friends at home and from his travels abroad.

Tom had a great association with the RDS and his family say that “he never missed a year and considered the show as a highlight of his calendar”. The RDS held great importance for him and he always ensured that while his children were competing on ponies, that they always had one to compete at Dublin. These ponies were either bred or produced in Warrington and it was sheer hard work that got them there.

Apart from enjoying the social element, Tom was also a winner at the show and went on to celebrate many victories over the years. In 1975, his horse Rainbow claimed the three-year-old class and in 1976, he returned to claim the ridden championship and the supreme championship, with Roberta Dowley in the saddle, who is still a very big part of the Moloney family. Rainbow later went on to jump under the command of Con Power with much success. This was the start of what was a remarkable journey for Tom, who had grown up surrounded by horses that worked the land.

His success in breeding horses has been well documented and his achievements and awards line the halls at Warrington. In 2017, he was the recipient of one of the highest awards for his Outstanding Contribution Award to ISH Breeding. Tom and Ann Moloney not only bred a line of international horses but their children excelled by competing these home-bred horses. Tom senior’s first Errigal mare bred five international show jumpers and among them was some household names such as Carroll’s Flight, the stallion Topflight (ISH) who Tom Jnr rode to European Junior team bronze in 1987. Tom also bred Valentine Flight (ISH) who Ellie rode to European team silver in 1995 and Smooth Flight, sold to Michael Stone.

Tom Moloney pulled off a fetching green ensemble to support Team Ireland at the Nations Cup in Wellington, Florida \ Erin Gilmore

With his wife Ann, in the 1990s they took a chance in opening Warrington Topflight Equestrian Centre. In opening the centre, he not only provided a training ground for young riders, but laid the foundation for his children’s future, as all have successful careers within the equestrian industry, all were involved in the centre. In the early days, his riders included Mel Watson, John Clancy and Royne Zetterman.

Great company

Anyone that knew Tom would say that he always had time for a chat. No matter who you were, Tom always had time to talk. Thomas Jnr recounts a story from Wellington. “Dad would sit down beside anyone and just start talking regardless of who they were. One year in Wellington while at the tour with Richie, he sat down at a table with a couple. He sat chatting for a while about the jumping. Towards the end of the conversation, he asked the man, “Are you into horses yourself” and he replied: “I’m into a bit of music”. When the man’s daughter finished jumping her round, Tom told him that she was “a good girl in the saddle”.

When Bruce Springsteen played in Croke Park that year, he sent Tom eight tickets to the concert. Tom later refused to sell Bruce his hat!

Tom will be sadly missed, no more so than by his close friend Paddy Byrne from Park House Stud. “I miss him awful; we were very close and had great times together. When we got together, we were like two schoolboys. I sold him his first show horse Rainbow and that’s where he started. Tom enjoyed life and he had a great sense of humour. One year at Dublin Horse Show, we were celebrating, and we headed to the nightclubs on Lesson Street. It was quite late and we knocked on the door to see if we could get in. Tom asked the doorman were we too late? And the doorman replied, “by about 40 years”!

He was a man that enjoyed travelling and horses allowed him this opportunity. In 1975, he travelled to Essen with Rainbow. In those days to travel to Germany was no easy feat. He travelled to Sweden for many years and enjoyed his trips to shows around the world and to the Winter Equestrian Centre in Florida when Richie settled there.

Irish in America

In recent years, Tom travelled to Florida with Jerry Sweetnam and hugely enjoyed his time there too.

“Tom was always great company and he will be missed in Florida,” Jerry said.

“He was a great friend and a pure gentleman. Distance was no object and I suppose because he would always talk to people, he would always get there. To be honest, sometimes I would be more concerned about him that he was about himself. About three years ago, he decided he was going to travel to New York to visit his sister. He hopped on the train and off he went.

“When he got there, she wasn’t home and the taxi man was so taken by him, that he spent the rest of the day with him until her return. When he was coming back to Wellington, he had no identification with him, and we had to fax a copy of his passport to get him back on the train.”

One man that spent some of his early career with him was John Micklem. “I rode four-year-olds for Tom and he really had some nice youngsters. Looking back now he bred traditional horses that jumped well and he had plenty of them. Tom and Ann took a chance on establishing Warrington and they were a great combination. I travelled to Essen with him. As well as the jumping, Tom loved to dance. I remember someone commenting that Tom Moloney was the only man to get Iris Kellett on the dancefloor.”

Another friend who will greatly miss Tom is Michael Stone. “Tom Moloney was one of nature’s gentlemen. I got my start in the horse world a high level with his great horse Smooth Flight and without that opportunity, I would never have had the career that I have been lucky enough to have. He was so enthusiastic about horses and the sport and was a wealth of knowledge.

Every year when he came to Wellington, he would be sure to sit down and have a chat about the old days and about the future and his family, as at the bottom of everything, he was a family man and no one supported his family as much as Tom.

Lasting legacy

Without a doubt, Tom has joined a list of great characters that has left us in recent years. Everyone would say, that he was the PR man of Warrington, more would say he was the PR man of the industry. He may not be at the RDS in body, but you can be sure he will be there in spirit.

Tom’s legacy continues through his children, Thomas, Marie, Eddie, Richie and Ellie and his grandchildren, Emily, Alice, Anna, Tommy, Heidi and Zach.