One of Ireland's top Olympic riders and a former member of the Army Equitation School was killed yesterday when his horse fell on top of him.
David Foster (43) was competing in horse trials at Rathmolyon, Co Meath, when the accident occurred.
He received severe head and chest injuries when his horse, Callatrim, cartwheeled over a fence and fell on top of him. He was dead on arrival at Navan Hospital.
Foster was one of Ireland's best-known three-day event riders, with a riding career going back to 1971 which included four Olympic games. He joined the Army Equitation School in 1974 and four years later won the national championships at Punchestown with Gleann Eineach.
He was first selected for the Irish Olympic squad for the games scheduled for Moscow in 1980. When the games were boycotted and the equestrian event was moved to Fontainebleau, Foster was part of the Irish team which finished in fourth place out of the 11 nations competing.
In 1984 he won both the Spanish three-day event in Madrid and the world military showjumping championships and went on to finish 25th at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 with Aughatore. In the 1988 Olympics in Seoul he finished 16th in the individual rankings.
The following year he made the decision to leave the Army and set up his own yard at home in Enfield, Co Meath.
In 1995 he missed the European championships in Italy because of a broken leg but was back in action the following year when he had three horses qualify for the Atlanta Olympics, riding in both the team and individual competitions.
By last year Foster had decided to start scaling down his eventing interests. Having ridden in more than 100 three-day events and having been leading Irish rider 10 times, Foster had ridden seven winners in hunter chases and the lure of the racecourse was strong. At the beginning of this year his Enfield yard housed just three event horses, but well over 40 racehorses.
He is survived by his wife Denise and their three children, Jessie, Lucy, and Nick.