“WE have a mountain to climb,” was a favourite saying of show jumping hero Tommy Wade as he faced into a major competition.

While he spoke, his nubile hands moved as though he were playing Chopin or gathering the reins of Dundrum to jump the last and deliver one more magic clear to win the Aga Khan Trophy.

But Tommy was well used to overcoming “mountains to climb”.

After all, in post World War Two Ireland, it was no easy matter for a young man to climb from a farm in the heart of Tipperary to the very top of world show jumping. With the raw talent and the determination of a Lester Piggott, Barry McGuigan or a Tiger Woods, he did just that as he passed World and Olympic Champions along the way.

No show jumping combination ever caught the imagination of the general Irish public like Tommy Wade and Dundrum. No wonder that he is the only Irish equestrian to ever be named to the Irish Sports Hall of Fame.

The priest at his hugely attended funeral in Boharlahan recently echoed this fact as he recalled, “growing up my heroes were Tipperary’s hurling teams and Tommy Wade.”

From the time that his dad Jimmy provided him with ponies like Little Chip and Croaghmore and then with horses like Ballingaddy, Tommy had a vision of taking on the show jumping “establishment” of the time.

“We from the country are being ignored,” he declared. Not content with wins at places like Clonmel and Borrisoleigh, he began to even the balance as he won three pony classes at the very heart of the establishment in the RDS during 1953 and 1954.

Symbolic of his early crusade, he and Ballingaddy beat Olympic rider Harry Freeman-Jackson at Charleville in 1956.

Tommy could be acerbic in his battle to the top. But it was never in rancour because while he spoke his truth and quoted the rules, there was always a little smile at the side of his mouth which said, “sure it’s only sport.”

WINNER ALRIGHT

As we all know Tommy’s rise to stardom both nationally and internationally truly acclerated when he was united with the precocious runaway cart horse Dundrum. Together they blitzed to record wins at the RDS. In newly created television coverage, they delighted home audiences as they beat the world’s best at Wembley. But at the same time, they also became national icons as they triumphed at local shows all around the country. As Iris Kellett once noted, “when Tommy’s lorry arrived on the grounds, you knew everything was going to be hard won.”

All of this plus a good deal of public support famously brought Tommy and Dundrum onto the first Army/Civilian winning teams of 1963 and 1967. As usual they were able to come up with something explosive that sealed victory and in turn, heightened their memory and admiration in the minds of the Irish people.

But, great as they were together, there was more to Tommy Wade than Dundrum. He was a solid family man with his delightful wife Felicity and a calm presence in his own front room. He was a daring course builder and handed the love of this art on to his son Alan. He was a horse dealer with a great eye and had a hand in finding ones like Rockbarton and Grand National winner West Tip. He was a bookmaker and is well remembered at Clonmel and Limerick. He was a record-breaking chef d’equipe of Ireland’s international show jumping team with some 30 wins to his credit.

All of that he did with a steely persona that showed him as bigger than any one of his achievements.

My lasting image of Tommy is that of a tall man with a cap leaning quietly against a post near the pocket, somehow looking beyond what was going on – a visionary dreaming of what next.

He was big, he was famous, he was so many things but he was always just a respected local man.

The huge turnout of Tipperary people at his funeral is evidence of that.

You cannot say more; nor would Tommy want us to.

With Felicity, Marie, Alan, Robert and Ronan we share our sadness at Tommy Wade’s passing.

M.S