Tributes have poured in for Irish show jumper Shane Dalton, who tragically passed away at age 29 on Friday.

Mr Dalton was a well-known figure in Irish show jumping, enjoying success at national and international levels during his career. One of the Cork native’s earliest international achievements came in 2016 when he represented Ireland at the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Belgium.

Among his successes throughout his career were victories at Balmoral, the Dublin Horse Show, and the Irish Breeders Classic. Last year, he won the five-year-old Flexible Young Horse Championship. at the Dublin Horse Show.

The Irish Horse Board described Shane Dalton as ‘one of its brightest talents’, while a further statement from Horse Sport Ireland, the national governing body for equestrian sport, released a statement describing Shane Dalton as ‘an endlessly kind, humble & talented young man’.

The statement read: ‘In loving memory of Shane Dalton, an endlessly kind, humble, and talented young man. He was the kind of person whose focus and determination saw him hugely successful in a competitive field, but modest in the spotlight of which he earned.

‘Shane is a huge loss to the Irish sport horse community and will be widely missed. A son, a brother, a horseman, and a great friend. Our thoughts are with Shane’s family, Norma, Richard, Caren, Niall, Sinead and his wide circle of friends. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.’

In a death notice, his family said he will be ‘sadly missed by his relatives, extended family members and his many friends in the equestrian world.’

‘Deeply missed by his beloved mother Norma, father Richard, Norma’s partner Ger, sisters Caren and Sinéad, brother Niall, brothers-in-law Philip and Dave, Niall’s partner Ine, nieces Molly and Kate, deceased nephew Noah, aunts and uncles of the Daly and Dalton families.’