Tag Archives: In Memoriam

Community/Charity, Show Jumping

In Memoriam: Ted Dwyer OAM, 1923-2013

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Lausanne (SUI), 10 May 2013 – Ted Dwyer, former coordinator of the FEI World Cup Jumping Pacific League and international course designer and judge, has died in Australia just days before his 90th birthday.

Ted lived in Young, New South Wales together with his wife Judy and their two sons on a farm that had been in his family since 1868. Ted was a livestock and crop farmer, and he and Judy, an accomplished four-in-hand driver, also produced English Hackney horses at their Ellmore Stud.

Ted was an FEI international course designer and Jumping judge and was instrumental in developing FEI World Cup Jumping competitions in New Zealand and South-East Asia. He was the coordinator of the FEI World Cup Pacific League for 25 years, from its inception until his retirement at the 2003 Final in Las Vegas. He helped lobby the FEI World Cup committee members for the establishment of the South-East Asian League, the 13th league in the world.

He owned a number of successful Jumping horses, including Ocean Foam, the horse ridden by Kevin Bacon on the Australian team that finished seventh at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games

He officiated as both a course designer and a judge all over Australia and New Zealand, as well as much of South-East Asia, including designing courses for the Xanthus Show Jumping Open series from 1991-1994, the 2nd and 4th Asian Show Jumping Championships and the 1995 Chiang Mai South-East Asian Games.

Over a 40-year period, Ted was also a contributor to a number of magazines in Australia and New Zealand and wrote two books, Show Jumping Down Under (1972) and Show Jumping in Australia (2005).

British equestrian journalist Alan Smith, who worked closely with Ted on the FEI World Cup circuit, remembers him with great fondness. “The huge contribution that Ted has made to show jumping in Australia and in parts of South-East Asia, where he is something of a godfather figure, would be hard to exaggerate,” he wrote in a foreword to Show Jumping in Australia. The pair was together at a party on a cruise ship during the 1989 FEI World Cup Final in Tampa, Florida. Thinking it might get chilly on the boat later in the evening, Ted asked one of the organisers if he should take a jumper, and was told by a very alarmed lady that no horses were allowed on board!

Ted was awarded the FEI Medal of Honour in 1998, three years after the Governor General had presented him with the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in recognition of his “services to equestrian sport both nationally and internationally”. He was inducted into the Equestrian Australia Hall of Fame in 2011.

“The FEI World Cup exists in its present form in Australia thanks to the dedication and passion of Ted Dwyer,” said John Roche, FEI World Cup Director. “The sport in Australia owes a lot to Ted’s dynamic efforts and enthusiasm. Our thoughts are with Ted’s family and friends at this sad time. He will be much missed.”

The FEI expresses its sincere condolences to Ted Dwyer’s family and friends, to Equestrian Australia, and all his many friends on the international Jumping circuit.

Ted’s funeral will be held on Wednesday 15 May at Catholic Church in Young at 11.30am.

Media contacts:

Grania Willis
Director Press Relations
Email: grania.willis@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 142

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
Email: malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 133

Community/Charity, Olympic Games, Show Jumping

In Memoriam: Alberto Valdés Ramos (MEX), 1919-2013

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Mexican Jumping rider Alberto Valdés Ramos (left), who has died at the age of 93, pictured with fellow Olympic team gold medallists at the London 1948 Games, Ruben Uriza (individual silver) and Humberto Mariles (individual gold).

Lausanne (SUI), 16 April 2013 – Alberto Valdés Ramos, Olympic team gold medallist at the London 1948 Games, has died at the age of 93.

He was the oldest surviving member of Mexico’s 1948 Jumping “dream team”. His fellow team mates were Humberto Mariles, who also won individual gold – a feat unequalled by any other Mexican sportsman at the time – and Ruben Uriza, who added individual silver to the team gold.

The day the trio claimed team gold was unforgettable for Mexican sports, and especially for Valdés who received news by telegram that his daughter had been born just before he competed in the Empire Stadium, now known as Wembley Stadium.

Equestrianism became a way of life for Valdés at the age of 10, after he moved to Paris with his father who had been appointed military attaché to the Mexican Embassy.

Valdés was part of a generation of accomplished Mexican riders who won major competitions in the United States, Canada and Europe, and he passed on his talent to his son Alberto Valdés Lacarra, who won team bronze at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games.

Valdés inspired many future athletes, and particularly equestrian athletes, when he was a torch bearer at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara at the age of 92. He passed the torch to diver Paola Espinosa, a fellow Olympian, who descended on wires from the roof of the Omnilife stadium to light the Pan-American cauldron.

The FEI expresses its sincere condolences to Alberto Valdés Ramos’ family and friends, to the Mexican Equestrian Federation and the international Jumping community.

FEI Media contacts:

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 33

Community/Charity, FEI

In Memoriam: Jane Pontifex (GBR), 1928-2012

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Jane Pontifex (Photo: Kit Houghton)

Lausanne (SUI), 11 December 2012 – Jane Pontifex, scorer at the first Badminton Horse Trials in 1949 and a well-known and well-respected equestrian journalist, has died at her home in Surrey (GBR). She was 84.

Jane was the first official scorer for British horse trials. She valued accuracy in everything she did, and one of her most important legacies was in helping to devise the scoring system for horse trials which is still in use today.

She played a major role in the development of the sport, and was heavily involved in the start-up of Burghley Horse Trials in 1961.

Jane worked for the British Horse Society for many years as an official scorer before joining the staff of top British equestrian magazine, Horse & Hound. When Michael Clayton, then editor of the magazine, wanted to upgrade coverage of Eventing, Jane was his natural choice.

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Community/Charity, FEI

In Memoriam: Justin Llewelyn (GBR), 1952-2012

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Justin Llewelyn, FEI Steward and Steward General for all equestrian disciplines in Great Britain, who has died at the age of 59. (Photo: Kit Houghton)

Lausanne (SUI), 11 December 2012 – Justin Llewelyn, an FEI Steward and the familiar and distinguished voice of horse trials in Great Britain, passed away at the weekend after a year of ill health. His health deteriorated on Saturday night (8 December) and he died at his home in Lincolnshire. He was 59.

Born in London to Celtic parents – his father was Welsh and his mother Irish – Justin was an FEI Steward, and was also Steward General for all disciplines in Great Britain for many years. In his role as FEI Steward, he was in charge of the mixed zone – where athletes are interviewed by the media post-competition – at the last three Olympic Games in Athens, Hong Kong and London. He was already seriously ill when he was working in Greenwich, but was determined not to miss the chance of officiating at his home Games.

Justin’s day job was as brand ambassador at the champagne house, Taittinger, and he was the British Consul General for the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, the official fraternity of the champenoise. He was well known as a knowledgeable and authoritative commentator at all the major British horse trials, including Badminton, Burghley, Bramham, Blenheim, Gatcombe and Chatsworth, and was never happier than when he was in the commentary box with his regular colleagues Mike Tucker, Giles Rowsell and Richard Clapham.

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Community/Charity, USEF

Don Burt 1930-2012

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Don Burt (Geoff Bugbee/USEF)

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation mourns the loss of a great innovator, ambassador and leader in equestrian sport with the passing of Don Burt on November 25, 2012. Burt served the discipline of reining and equestrian sport as a whole within the U.S. and abroad for over 50 years.  Known for heading the effort to secure the approval of reining as the FEI’s first Western discipline, Burt served on the USEF Reining and High Performance Reining Committees.

Burt also served as President of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2004.

His influence reached outside the reining and Quarter Horse circles as Burt showed and judged in almost every major breed division.

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Community/Charity, FEI

In Memoriam: General Johnson Kim (KOR), 1927-2012

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General Johnson Kim (KOR), left, with FEI President HRH Prince Philip in 1986 in Korea.

Lausanne (SUI), 21 November 2012 – General Johnson Kim (KOR), retired FEI judge, passed away recently at the age of 85.

General Kim was born in 1927 and his involvement in equestrian sport dates back to his school years when he won various national competitions. After graduating from Korea University, he joined the national military academy to prepare for the 1952 Olympic Games but was prevented from doing so by the Korean War.

Until his retirement from the FEI in 1997, General Kim was an FEI official international judge in Jumping, an international judge in Dressage, an international candidate judge in Eventing as well as an international course designer in Jumping. He served as chef d’équipe to the Korean team at several major international events, including the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He was member of the ground jury for Jumping at the 1988 Olympic Games in his home city of Seoul and also acted as the course designer for the equestrian portion of modern pentathlon at the same Games.

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Community/Charity, Endurance Riding, USEF

Kathy Brunjes 1953-2012

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Kathy Brunjes (Genie SS, Inc.)

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation mourns the loss of a great competitor and ambassador for equestrian sport.  Kathy Brunjes passed November 1, 2012 following a courageous battle with cancer.

Brunjes was an avid endurance rider logging 6,745 lifetime competition miles.  Her passion for the sport of endurance saw her compete all over the world including representing the United States in Jerez, Spain at the 2004 FEI World Endurance Championships.  Brunjes then travelled to Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2008 to compete in the President’s Cup and later the same year as a member of the U.S. squad at the FEI World Endurance Championship in Malaysia.

In addition to being a renowned competitor, Brunjes participated in governance of the sport as a member of the USEF Board of Directors since 2007.  She served on the Youth Sports Committee, the Administration and Finance Working Group, the Endurance High Performance Committee and was the chair of the Endurance Eligible Athletes’ Committee.  Brunjes was also active within the American Endurance Ride Conference as a former chair and as a member of the International Committee.

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Community/Charity, Eventing/H.T., FEI

In Memoriam: George Lane Fox 1931-2012

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George Lane Fox. Photo: Kit Houghton

Lausanne (SUI), 11 October 2012 – George Lane Fox (GBR), founder of the Bramham International Horse Trials, died peacefully at home on 9 October.

He was the ninth generation of his family to live at Bramham Park in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, where he started the Bramham International Horse Trials in 1973.

The Bramham International Horse Trials have kick-started the careers of many world-famous Eventers, and every year the CIC and CCI 3-star events attract a large number of home-grown and international athletes.

This year, the trials were the last chance for many athletes to qualify for the Olympics, and the competition was extended to an extra 100 entrants after rain led to the cancellation of two other important UK equestrian events. Athletes from 12 nations on four continents battled it out in the beautiful Bramham Park estate alongside William Fox-Pitt (GBR) who took both the CIC and CCI 3-star titles with Neuf Des Coeurs and Chilli Morning.

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Community/Charity, FEI, Show Jumping

In Memoriam: Sven Harmsen 1961 – 2012

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Sven Harmsen (Photo: Jacob Melissen)

Lausanne (SUI), 12 September 2012 – Sven Harmsen (NED), the Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation’s Chef d’Equipe, national coach and trainer for Ponies, Juniors and Young Riders in Jumping, has passed away at the age of 51.

He attended the 2012 Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ in Calgary as Chef d’Equipe with the senior Dutch team of Jur Vrieling, Leon Thijssen, Harrie Smolders and Jeroen Dubbeldam, and shared their bronze medal win in the BMO Nations’ Cup on 8 September. Later that evening at the gala dinner he suffered a severe heart attack, from which he was unable to recover.

Sven Harmsen was a successful rider before his collaboration with the Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation. Silver medallist at the FEI Young Rider European Championships in 1982, he went on to compete successfully at both national and international level throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He clocked up several titles at events worldwide, including the Grand Prix in Hickstead (GBR) and Geneva (SUI) and FEI Nations Cup events in Falsterbo (SWE) and Drammen (NOR).

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Community/Charity, FEI, Show Jumping

In Memoriam: Wan Wai Yee 1958 – 2012

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Wan Wai Yee, FEI International Jumping judge, who passed away on 27 August 2012. (Photo: HKEF)

Lausanne (SUI), 7 September 2012 – Wan Wai Yee (HKG), an FEI International Jumping Judge, has passed away at the age of 53, having battled for over a year with lung cancer.

A teacher by profession, Wai Yee competed in both Jumping and Dressage events before becoming a Jumping judge during the 1990s.

In 2006 she qualified as an FEI International judge and officiated at numerous events worldwide, including CSI5* Goteborg (SWE), the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou (CHI) and the 2011 FEI Children’s International Classics Final (HKG).

One of her last assignments as an FEI Judge was during the very successful FEI Children’s International Classics in Hong Kong in January of this year.

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