Vale Ted Dwyer OAM
Equestrian Australia (EA) is saddened by the passing of equestrian stalwart Ted Dwyer OAM. Ted was inducted into the EA Hall of Fame in 2011 and was also bestowed the Medal of Honour in 1998 by the FEI. In 1995, the Governor General presented him with the Order of Australia Medal in recognition of his 'services to equestrian sport both nationally and internationally'.
Ted was instrumental in developing World Cup Jumping competitions in south-east Asia and was the Coordinator of the Pacific League of the World Cup more than 25 years. Among the various positions he held, Ted was a well-respected FEI international course designer and show jumping judge, as well as the owner of ‘Ocean Foam’, ridden by Kevin Bacon and represented Australia at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.]
In 1996 Ted helped lobby the World Cup Committee members for the establishment of the South East Asian League, the 13th league in the world.
EA Chairman Dr Warwick Vale conveyed his sympathies to the Dwyer family on behalf of the Equestrian Australia community.
“Our thoughts today are with Judy and her sons and their extended family and friends. Ted was an institution in our sport and his loss will be sincerely felt across the sport.
“Ted’s contribution over many decades was significant and his work in our sport will be a legacy for many years to come.
“Our Jumping community here in Australia and indeed internationally is in a far greater position today thanks to Ted’s great work,” said Dr Vale.
Ted’s funeral will be held on Wednesday 15th May at Catholic Church in Young at 11.30am.
The FEI remembers Ted Dwyer, OAM
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 were 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.
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