The National Hunt community in Ireland is a tight knit one.
So when news broke this morning of the death of JT McNamara it was clear some tribute would be paid to the former jockey, who was paralysed in a fall at Cheltenham in 2013.
The 41-year-old Limerick native was a very popular man and his family are still very involved in racing – both his cousins, Andrew and Robbie, are former jockeys-turned-trainers.
Robbie, who is paralysed from the waist down following a fall last year in Wexford, saddled a number of runners in Ballybrit this week.
Ahead of racing at the summer festival on Tuesday, punters and jockeys alike paused for a perfectly observed minute’s silence in memory of JT McNamara.
A minute's silence at Ballybrit racecourse for the late JT McNamara @Galway_races #RTEracing https://t.co/74l6ZYLCzh
— RTÉ Racing (@RTEracing) July 26, 2016
