THE recent passing of Jim White severed the last link between the formation of the SJAI and the present day. It was a fateful day back in 1954 (now 66 years ago) when a group of show jumping enthusiasts, all men, met at the Ballymascanlon Hotel in Dundalk to set up a national body to control the then growing sport of showjumping. Previously county shows and gymkhanas had been run under local rules, often drawn in such a way to favour local interests.

There had been both a southern and northern show jumping body but this was the first attempt to form a national body. The first chairman was Col. Hume Dudgeon and of those gartered, Jim White was the last surviving member.

Jim was in his early 20s and a veterinary student on the day when he became a founder member of the SJAI and tendered a lovely pink Lavery 10-shilling note (10/s) – about 63 cents in current money. While this might not sound much today, at the time it represented four days’ lunch money in college. From that day to this, that membership has never lapsed.

His daughter Sheila takes up the story. “Soon after that, regional branches of the SJAI were formed and Munster was divided into three branches as we know it today. Throughout the years, Dad attended many meetings in Dublin as a representative of Limerick/Clare, sometimes travelling by train in those early days. Show jumping has changed a lot since those early days, when in the champion Wall class, a horse was awarded four faults for knocking with his forelegs and two faults for knocking with the hind legs. Been a judge in those days, as is the case today, was indeed not an easy job!

“My father competed in those days with horses which hunted and worked the farm and he remembers the excitement of selling a roan mare for £70 (€88) at Scarriff show. Indeed in 1919 and the 1920s, his father had competed at the RDS which long predates the SJAI,” recalled Sheila.

Among those who were the SJAI driving force in Limerick and Clare were Major Ged O’Dwyer, Dan and Donal Johnson, Norman Wheeler, Pat Hannon Ardsolus, John Barry, and many more.

As recounted by Sheila, even then neither he or his family were newcomers to show jumping. In 1919, his father competed at the RDS riding his own horse, Whitegate, to win the high wall and returned the following year to further success, this time ridden by the famed Mrs Binty Marshall – the leading lady showjumper and point-to-point rider of her day. Coincidentally she was also mother to the still infant and later to be jockey Brian Marshall who went on to ride two of Vincent O’Brien’s Grand National winners: Early Mist and Royal Tan. The photo of Whitegate jumping the champion wall with Mrs Marshall still features on RDS brochures.

Hunting

Jim’s father was a keen hunting man and as well as hunting locally with the Co Clare, he would make a trip once or twice a season to hunt with the Co Limerick, some 30 miles distant. Jim used to recount his dad setting off at early hour in a pony and trap with his hunter led behind to hunt in one of the nearer Co Limerick meets. He would hunt all day and make the return trip in darkness.

Veterinary was also in his blood as two of his uncles, Phonsie and James, were also veterinary surgeons. James, who had been capped for Ireland in rugby, sadly was killed in the first world war bur Phonsie practised in Dublin and later went into business in Limerick.

On qualifying, Jim returned to Tulla in east Clare where he set up a veterinary practice as well as farming. Hunting with the Co Clare hunt in the winter and show jumping in summer filled his non- veterinary hours. He was a founder member of both Tulla and Scariff show, the latter with his close colleague and friend John Blake of Scariff.

Family life

In due course, romance came his way when his eye was taken by Maureen Aherne back in Ireland on a holiday from her home on Long Island to visit her mother’s family in nearby Quin. Romance blossomed and early 1960 saw Jim and his mother make the trip to Long Island for his marriage that lasted over 60 happy years! There weren’t many guests from Ireland but his younger colleague and friend, the late Michael Osborne, was on hand to wish the young couple well.

The happy couple returned to a busy life in Tulla of farming, veterinary and of course, horses. Marrying into a horsey family, it wasn’t too long before Maureen was riding and sportingly sat up and rode in the Clare Grand National, run in Dromoland every Easter Monday, and she was both first lady and first Co Clare rider home. While all that was enough to keep anyone busy, they found time to produce James, Marie, Liam, Joan and Sheila. While all the children rode and competed successfully, James went on to become an engineer and lives in California, while Liam lives at home, farms, and is an electronic engineer with Analog Devices.

It was the girls who made show jumping their careers. Remarkably, all three of them have represented Ireland both at home and abroad. Marie, now married to John Burke of Clare Equestrian Centre near Ennis, was the leading Irish rider at the World Equestrian Games in Germany in 2006. She was also a member of the winning Irish team at the Nations Cup in Belgium and came third in the Dublin Horse Show’s €120,000 Grand Prix. Her stallion Chippison was ranked as the number one Irish-bred showjumper in Europe and number two in the world in 2006.

Meanwhile, her sister Joan, also based in Clare, is married to Pat Green, also from a strong Clare hunting family. She has enjoyed considerable success, particularly with Biscaya D’Eversem who jumped in numerous Nations Cups around the world. Sheila who works from home, had the marvellous stallion Simba which, at the height of his success, unfortunately had to be retired for health reasons.

Shrewd judge

Come the 1970s, Jim was struck down with an acute attack of brucellosis, then common among bovine veterinary surgeons. He was advised to give up dairy faming and as far as possible, avoid brucellosis in his practice. So the momentous decision was made to sell his dairy farm and move. Through the good offices of Tom Costello, a customer was found at home and he introduced Jim to the magnificent Richmond Park near Patrickswell in Co Limerick.

It ticked all the boxes but it meant relocating from his beloved Co Clare to Limerick. Richmond, then and now, is a magnificent property – formerly the home of Lord Petersham who had lavished money on it – and is located directly opposite the gates of Greenmount Racecourse.

They moved in 1976 and Jim continued his interest in show jumping, acting as an FEI steward, both home and abroad. He judged at shows all over Ireland and equestrian commentator Michael Slavin recalls him as being, “A quiet strength in the judges’ box, never missing anything and a great man to deal with a difficult situation.”

Honoured

In recent years, Jim was honoured both by the SJAI and more recently, the Showjumpers Club of Ireland. In his day, he was looked on one of Ireland’s leading equine veterinary surgeons. With his good friend, close colleague and fellow Clare man John Blake, they performed one of the first successful Hobday operations in this country. Another colleague, fellow show jumping judge and long time friend Ronan Sugrue, gave the eulogy.

Perhaps it was appropriate that John Blake’s son, Michael, chef d’equipe to Ireland’s senior international jumping team, should have been guest soloist at Jim’s funeral. By special family request, he finished off with the song made famous by Mary Black, ending with the lines:

One bright blue rose outlives all those

Two thousand years, and still it goes

To ponder his death and his life eternally.

When the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, the family hopes to have a memorial service where Jim White’s many friends can attend.