BRITISH Olympic equestrian gold-medallist and former Badminton Champion Richard Meade has died.

Mr Meade, 76, was admitted to hospital on Friday, December 26 after being diagnosed with cancer in October and undergoing six weeks of treatment. He died two weeks later on Thursday, January 8.

Mr Meade was born into an equestrian family just over the border in Chepstow but lived in West Littleton, near Bath, and started riding at the age of seven.

He won his first Olympic gold medal riding Cornishman V at the 1968 Mexico Games where he teamed up with Londoner Derek Allhusen, on Lochinvar, and Shropshire's Ruben Jones, on The Poacher, to beat the United States to first place.

He went on to win the Badminton Horse Trials as an individual for the first time in 1970 before securing another Olympic team gold in the 1972 Munich Games.

His three golds made him the most successful British Olympic three-day eventer of all-time, and place him second in the list of Welsh gold medal winners.

Meade returned to Badminton in 1982 to triumph for a second time on Speculator III. He retired from competition in 1993, going on to have a highly succesful post-riding career.

He served on the British Horse Society's council for a decade, was president of the British Equestrian Federation, a member of the International Equestrian Federation and chairman of the British Horse Foundation.

His incredible career was recognised by HM The Queen with an OBE when he was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 1972, came third in the individual BBC Sports Personality of the Year and was a member of the Team of the Year, also in 1972.

Hugh Thomas, chairman of BE and long-term colleague of Richard, shares the thoughts of many: “Richard at the height of his powers towered over the eventing world – his results far exceeded the innate ability of many of the horses he rode and he was at his very best when riding at the major events and Championships. Then he gave countless time and effort to supporting the sport he loved. His passing really does feel like the end of an era.”

Mr Meade is survived by his wife, Angela, and their three children, James, Lucy and Harry, a British team member who won a World Championship team silver medal in 2014.