Richard Meade

Richard Meade OBE
Richard Meade c. 1974
Personal information
Full name	Richard John Hannay Meade
Nationality	United Kingdom
Discipline	Eventing
Born	(1938-12-04)4 December 1938 Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales
Died	8 January 2015(2015-01-08) (aged 76)
Medal record Representing  Great Britain Equestrian Olympic Games 1968 Mexico City Team eventing 1972 Munich Team eventing 1972 Munich Individual eventing World Championships 1966 Burghley Individual eventing 1970 Punchestown Team eventing 1970 Punchestown Individual eventing 1974 Burghley Team eventing 1982 Luhmühlen Team eventing European Championships 1965 Moscow Team eventing 1967 Punchestown Team eventing 1971 Burghley Team eventing 1973 Kiev Team eventing 1981 Horsens Team eventing

Richard John Hannay Meade

medals, including team golds in 1970 and 1982.

Biography

Early life

Meade was born in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales. His parents, John and Phyllis (née Watts) were joint masters of the Curre Hounds at Itton and set up Britain's first Connemara stud. He was educated at Lancing College and Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he read Engineering and was a member of the Hawks' Club. He served in the 11th Hussars and briefly worked in the City of London before embarking on a life committed to the equestrian sphere.^[1]

Equestrian career

Throughout his

, in 1970 on The Poacher and in 1982 on Speculator III.

Following the

of the games.

Meade excelled at the major events and championships; in four Olympic games he never finished out of the top eight places. When he retired he was 6th in the list of the most successful British Olympians of all time across all sports; he is currently equal 11th. Despite winning both the team gold and the individual gold medals at Munich in 1972, he felt that his greatest Olympic memory was four years earlier at

games riding Jacob Jones, who was a relatively cautious horse; they finished 4th individually.

Honours and awards

He was voted

.

In 1974 he was appointed an OBE for services to sport. In 1996 he was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame.

Positions and career after competing

After his retirement from competing, Meade was a dedicated contributor to the equestrian world. He served on the British Horse Society’s council and was chairman of the British Horse Foundation. He was also formerly president of the British Equestrian Federation, a member of the International Equestrian Federation’s (FEI) Eventing Committee and then a bureau member and chairman of its Northern European Group of Nations. He served on the sport's governing body in the UK (now British Eventing) continuously for over 30 years until after its reorganisation in 1996 when he was made a vice president.

He was an FEI judge and course designer, roles that took him all over the world. He was also a well-respected judge of show horses. Latterly, Meade worked as an equestrian expert witness and continued to train riders from his home in South Gloucestershire.

Fox-hunting

In 2001, the RSPCA expelled Meade for organising a campaign to encourage supporters of fox hunting to join so as to put pressure on the society to change its policy.^[2]

Personal life

Around 1970 Meade was briefly linked to

(b. 1983), and Lucy (b. 1985).

On 14 September 2013, his son, James Meade, married Lady Laura Marsham, daughter of

His younger son Harry, whom Richard greatly supported, is himself a renowned event rider who has competed for Great Britain at the world championships.^[8]

Death

Meade died on 8 January 2015, after receiving treatment for cancer. He was 76.^[9][10]

References