VENEZUELAN show jumper Andres Rodriguez, the man who captured Irish hearts at the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show in 2015, has been tragically killed in a car accident in Florida.

The 31-year-old rider, and his passenger Sophie Walker, were in a collision in the early hours of Monday morning.

It is understood that Ms Walker, an amateur show jumper and wife of trainer Brian Walker of Woodside Farm in Wellington, passed away at the scene and Rodriguez died from his injuries a number of hours later.

The local Palm Beach Post reports that Rodriguez’s 1992 Porsche roadster crashed into a concrete pillar around 3:25am in the Palm Beach Polo and Country Club.

Winner of a silver medal in the Pan American Games, Rodriguez endeared himself to Irish show jumping fans when he successfully jumped in the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show, wearing an IRFU rugby jersey under his show jumping jacket.

Having cleared the imposing red wall in the Land Rover Grand Prix, he stripped off his jacket and galloped around the arena in the Irish jersey, to massive cheers from the spectating crowd.

A statement on the show jumper’s official Facebook page read: "It is with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that Andres Rodriguez and his passenger Sophie Walker suffered a tragic car accident on Monday morning

“Sophie Walker passed away in the accident and despite all efforts Andres passed away a few hours later. We are lost for words. Our prayers and thoughts go to Sophie's family, to Andres' wife and family.”