Tom Ryder, an internationally renowned carriage driver, author and judge, died on March 3 in York, England. He was 91.
Mr. Ryder was introduced to horses at the age of 10 while visiting his uncle’s farm. He developed a devotion to the Hackney breed and loved driving.
When WWII began, Mr. Ryder decided if he was going to go to war, he would join a horsed yeomanry regiment. He was trained as a horse soldier and left for Palestine in 1940. Mr. Ryder was a member of Britain’s last cavalry regiment to go into action on horseback. They served as flank guards for an Australian infantry unit in the mountains of Lebanon.
When the cavalry horses were decommissioned, Mr. Ryder and his friends volunteered for special assignments that included traveling to Cairo, Egypt, and then the Suez region as part of a parachute signal unit. He finished his wartime service in Yugoslavia, Greece, and the Balkans.
In 1948, Mr. Ryder married Joyce Kirton. The young family moved a number of times as Mr. Ryder began working for a variety of horse owners in several countries. In 1970, they moved to New Jersey to work for John Seabrook and remained for 20 years. After Joyce’s death, Mr. Ryder moved back to Yorkshire, England, in 1990.
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Mr. Ryder began judging harness horses at the first post-war shows in the Netherlands. After that, he traveled all around the world to judge horse shows, teach or speak on carriages and driving. He served as the editor of The Carriage Journal, the magazine of the Carriage Association of America, for 15 years.
He also wrote a number of books, including The High Stepper (1979), On The Box Seat (1969), The History of the Coaching Club (1999) and A Half Century of Coaching (2001). On The Box Seat is still considered one of the best modern reference works on the topic, and the fourth revision was published in 1983.
Mr. Ryder is survived by his four children, Elizabeth Ashbridge, York, England, Jill Ryder, Lexington, Ky., John Ryder, Dorset, England, and Geoff Ryder, Pennsville, N.J., and three grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Carriage Association of America, 3915 Jay Trump Rd,. Lexington, KY 40511.
