THE shock felt throughout the equestrian community on hearing that Philip White of Maddybenny had died in the early hours of last Sunday morning, is nothing compared to the devastation felt by his family at his sudden death.

All would wish to extend their sympathy to his wife Eavan (with whom he had recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary) to his daughter Tegan (White McMorrow) and son Jack, their respective spouses Cian and Courtney, and grandchildren Tom, Cora and Alfie. Philip is also survived by his brothers Ian, Fred and Tommy and his sister Anona.

Sadly, Jack and Courtney couldn’t travel over from Canada but were remembered at the start of Philip’s funeral Mass by Eavan’s brother, Ronan McCoy, who said his heart was truly broken at the loss of his brother-in-law who had been a friend for nearly 45 years. In a feature on the White family carried in these pages roughly a year ago, Philip recalled first noticing Eavan at the 1974 Pony Club Area Trials.

Philip was born in Portlaoise in 1951 and, via Ballina, moved to Maddybenny in 1955. He attended Coleraine Academical Institution from 1962 to 1969, attended University in London for one year studying Zoology, Biology and Geology before enrolling at Greenmount Agricultural College.

After leaving there with a degree in Agriculture, he returned home to help run the family farm and mushroom business. When the latter enterprise closed down, the family moved into the B&B business and this has since flourished and diversified.

Philip was always known as a dapper dresser. “He loved to be different,” Ronan told the Covid restricted small attendance at Philip’s funeral service and the wider audience following on the webcam. “Waistcoats, bow-ties and hats were his thing and the more colourful and outrageous the better. The older he got, the more flamboyant the shirts became.”

Having referred to Philip’s love of food and daredevil spirit, Ronan also commented: “Philip was intelligent and kind and wise… I can’t say he was perfect but he was very good… considerate and compassionate… he was a real countryman with a love of farming and a love of nature.”

In addition to the many exploits mentioned by Ronan, Fr Rory Sheehan, who celebrated Philip’s funeral Mass, made reference to his Mastership of the hunt (the Route) and said that his longevity in the role (30 seasons) “was in no small way due to a belief in his ability to lead from the middle. If opinion was divided, traditional as opposed to modern, cautious as opposed to decisive, Philip believed that he could bring the two camps together by leading from the middle.” Fr Sheehan also recalled Philip’s great support of many charities.

Equestrian highlights

In the world of the horse in Ireland, we knew Philip as an international show jumper and eventer, a one-time point-to-point jockey and trainer, an equestrian centre owner and host of horse trials and hunter trials plus Riding Club and Pony Club activities.

He rode in Dublin as a child and won a banks’ competition there in 1971. The highlights of his career as an event rider came at Punchestown where he was second in the international with Cool Corroy, fourth with Causeway Coaster in the Gowran Grange national class and sixth in the two-star international on Bowes Lion.

As a breeder, he became more widely known through the exploits of Camilla Speirs’s great five-star eventer Portersize Just A Jiff, whose career he followed with a passion. He was also delighted and proud when he and Eavan travelled abroad in support of Tegan and Jif’s skewbald half-brother Texan Style.

It’s hard to believe that Philip, who was such a force of nature, was taken from his family and the wider community so suddenly last Sunday, having spent much of the previous week preparing his beloved Maddybenny for Saturday’s Northern Region event.

M. McL.

TRIBUTES

HERE, shortened by space constraints, are some of the many tributes paid to Philip White since the news of his sudden death broke last Sunday morning.

BANN VALLEY RIDING CLUB

It is with deep regret that we have to announce the sad passing of Philip White, a stalwart member of the Bann Valley.

DORA BEACOM NORTHERN REGION EVENT CO-ORDINATOR

Today, we lost a very special member of our community – not only was Philip White a landowner, competitor, supporter, father of an eventer but he was a very dear friend and member of our eventing fraternity. The fact that we were competing yesterday at Maddybenny makes this all the more poignant.

Philip White was definitely one of life’s characters - always with a story to tell and about whom there was always a story to be told. What a shame there couldn’t be a wake as that is definitely the party he would have wanted.

Philip worked hard right up until Friday, in very difficult circumstances, to make the course ready for yesterday’s event and the fact that it ran is testament to him, Eavan and Fred. He wouldn’t have got to see the Maddybenny results but he would have been delighted to read about the number of first time eventers (particularly the young) who were returning after a break and the die-hards who all travelled to compete there yesterday. That would have been music to his ears.

NORTHERN REGION RIDER COMMITTEE

Little did we know when competing on Saturday, that Philip would never be there to welcome us back to Maddybenny again, commented chairman, Jonny Steele. He and his family have provided us all with a great event for so many years and the Whites deserve huge appreciation for their devotion to our sport.

Saturday was a great day full of sunshine and smiles for us riders and Philip would have been pleased to know that we found the show jumping track technical while the cross-country course asked for brave and accurate riding while proving educational for both horse and rider – just as he would have wanted and liked himself.

ROUTE HUNT BRANCH OF THE PONY CLUB

Philip White was a loyal member of the Route Hunt Pony Club from a young age and has been an integral part of RHPC ever since.

Every member will have a unique story of how Philip has had some impact or effect on their own equestrian experience. His dedication and true love of the sport always shone through. On all occasions he accommodated the RHPC be that for tetrathlon, pony camp, field rallies, supporting the mounted games teams or loaning out horses at the last minute.

Of course, Philip wouldn’t want to miss out on any of the fun and was most often seen teaching on horseback. The phrase “Follow me everybody” as he cantered off into the distance, a group of pony-mad kids following behind, will be a fond memory for all.

THE IRISH FIELD’S HUNTING CORRESPONDENT NOEL MULLINS

Philip was a charming and hospitable man who loved the Antrim countryside and the comradery of his fellow Route Harriers followers.

ULSTER REGION SHOWJUMPING

Philip was a high-profile member who had served on the Ulster Region Committee for many years representing national competitions, amateurs and judges at both regional and national level. He also sat on many other equestrian committees where his views and wise counsel were widely respected. Philip was a great ambassador for our sport and was highly competitive. He will be sadly missed but fondly remembered by many.