LONG READ: Tipperary man ‘honoured’ to play special role at 2028 Olympics Games

It’s estimated that it takes around 7,000 staff, 50,000 volunteers, and 3,000 athletes to make an Olympic Games tick, and the 2028 Games in Los Angeles have added a Tipperary man to their ranks to help the cause.

It was revealed earlier this month that Alan Wade, FEI (The International Federation for Equestrian Sports) Level 4 Course Designer and Technical Delegate, has been appointed as the Jumping Course Designer for LA 28, with the initial work on the course designs to begin later this year.

The decision was taken unanimously by the FEI Board at its monthly teleconference.

Wade is a very experienced Irish official, who has designed courses at the highest level of the sport including the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final 2017 in Omaha, Neb (USA) and the FEI World Equestrian Games 2018 in Tryon (USA). He was the Assistant Course Designer at the London 2012 Olympic Games alongside Bob Ellis (GBR).

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The Tipperary native grew up immersed in equestrian sport and began designing his first tracks at the age of 12 at the local gymkhanas in the county. He is the son of jumping great Tommy Wade, who was part of Ireland’s winning Aga Khan Cup teams in 1963 and 1967 aboard the legendary horse Dundrum.

He began his professional career on home ground in Ireland, designing in the main arena of the Dublin Horse Show for the first time in 2009. Since then, he has officiated in Dublin over a dozen times. He has designed in Rotterdam, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Lisbon and Rabat. His reputation for excellence has crossed the Atlantic and his popularity has grown in North America. Currently the majority of his designs are created for shows in the United States, alongside some in Canada and Mexico.

Wade sat down with the Tipperary Star following this month’s announcment by the FEI to talk about his reaction to being selected as the course designer, the logistics involved over the next three years, and considerations including the LA humidity and animal welfare.

“I was born in Tipperary, and my father was always involved in horses,” Wade began.

“He was a very successful show jumping rider with Dundrum back in the 60s and a very, very successful chef d'équipe for the Irish team. We were always involved with horses, racehorses, and show jumpers. The Holycross show was a big event that he was involved in. I used to volunteer there, help out at the local gymkhanas who were always looking for volunteers to put back up fences and help the designers.”

From there, Wade moved up through the grades and did the relevant coaching and is now one of the most experience and sought after course designers in the Equestrian world. However he maintains that there was a little bit of luck involved in his designs reaching a global audience.

“I was lucky, I have to say. I did a World Cup Final in North America in 2017 which was a big deal. The following year I did the World Championships again in the USA, they’ve been very good to me. Most countries have their own designers, so it’s a big ask for them to reach out and an honour to be asked to build the LA Olympics and something I couldn’t have dreamed of.”

After considering the role for a couple of weeks, Wade accepted the proposal knowing the weight of expectation that comes with being involved in an Olympic Games.

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“In one way it’s basically the same as doing the World Championships. In fact, from a sporting point of view the World Championships would be more likely to have tougher courses overall. With the Olympics it’s about presenting the sport to people tuning into showjumping while the Games are on that normally wouldn’t watch it. I feel we have to try present it to the outside world as best as possible.

“It’s a bit like the Grand National in my opinion. Everyone in the UK and Ireland used to watch it and maybe have a bet on it, but wouldn’t follow racing for maybe another year until the next one comes around. The Olympics is a bit like that, so I intend to present showjumping in the best possible light.”

“I’m really looking forward to it all. It’s going to be a couple years of designing, living with your designs, and discussions with LA 28 as to what designs they want to include and how they want to present it. While the FEI will lay out the technical aspects of it all, the limits on the heights of the fences etc.”

One consideration, not only for the equestrian sports at the Olympic Games in LA is the weather, with heat and humidity a staple of summertime on the East Coast. Wade says animal welfare and ensuring a safe competition for horses, riders, and spectators alike is are questions he’ll help to answer.

“Before I was brought in, they had another area penciled in for the equestrian sport, but this has now been changed to somewhere closer to the coast. Obviously it is very warm at that time of year, but there are going to be test events the year before to try combat any issues.

“In terms of horse welfare, I believe everything is going to be run pretty early in the morning with respect and care for the horses in mind. Other Championships have seen similar issues, I remember it was very hot again in the US back in 2018. They had water cooling fans and various other solutions to help with the heat. I’m sure LA 28 will be no different and they’ll be researching that and there’ll be more communication on that going forward.”

Despite the feeling from and sports fans around the world that the 2024 Games in Paris have only recently taken place, and that the next instalment feels a long way down the road, those involved in getting LA ready for 2028 are already hard at work.

“Initial designs of the fences will have to start as soon as possible,” Wade insists.

“We’re looking at 40 to 50 drawings of different fences, and they take time, you have to visualise them. Normally the hosts want a theme to tie in with the course design, so the next thing is getting that guidance from LA 28.”

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