HUNDREDS of mourners turned out in Boherlahan, Co Tipperary, on Wednesday to say their final farewell to Tommy Wade who passed away on Monday morning at the age of 80 at the Bons Secours Hospital in Co Cork.
A show jumper, among other things, and a household name, Wade suffered a stroke last week. An icon of the sport of show jumping during the 1960s and ‘70s, Wade’s funeral attracted many show jumpers whom he had influenced over the years, including Cian O’Connor, Dermott Lennon, James Kernan, Peter Charles, Shane Breen, Michael Quirke, Gerry Mullins and Lt Col Tom Freyne.
The Tipperary man was also a prominent figure in the racing world and was due to be at the Tattersalls Ireland May Store Sale this week. People from the racing and bloodstock industry turned out in their droves, including champion trainer Willie Mullins.
Most sports fans will recall Wade winning Nations Cups and Grands Prix all over the world with the formidable 15hh ‘pony’ Dundrum in the early 1960s. A feat that may never be matched was the combinations incredible showing at the 1963 Dublin Horse Show when they won all five international classes and were part of the winning Aga Khan team.
Wade later took over as chef d’equipe of the Irish senior show jumping in the late 1990s and led the team to win an incredible 33 Nations Cup during his six year tenure. The 10 Nations Cup victories in the 1999/2000 season is another record Wade is likely to hold for quite some time.
He was in charge when the team claimed a gold medal at the European Champions in 2001 and at the World Championships in 2002 when Dermott Lennon won the individual gold medal.
All the while, Wade was training racehorses for 30 years from his Tipperary base.
The most famous horse to pass through his hands was the 1983 Aintree Grand National winner West Tip, also a winner of the three-mile chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
Wade is the only equestrian sport person in the Irish Sports Hall of Fame, to which he was inducted in 2013. That same year, he was given the Hall of Fame award at the annual Show Jumpers Awards ball, to which he commented: “This means a lot to me because it comes from show jumping people I know all my life.”
Just last August, at the Dublin Horse Show, although not present, Wade was presented with a Horse Sport Ireland Hall of Fame Award and received a specially commissioned medal from current Irish chef d’equipe Rodrigo Pessoa.
In his memory, the Irish show jumping team will wear black armbands during tomorrow’s (Sunday) Longines FEI Nations Cup in La Baule.
Tommy is survived by his wife Felicity, daughter Maria and sons Robert, Alan and Ronan.
Turn to page A62 to read tributes to Tommy Wade