Tim’s legacy - helping young people achieve their sporting ambitions
Tim Stockdale rose to become a renowned world-class equestrian from humble sporting beginnings at a local riding school close to his Nottinghamshire family home. He went on to forge a truly illustrious career as an international show jumper. Tim’s achievements included representing Great Britain at more than 50 Nations Cup events and competing at European and World championships over many years. In 2008 he was selected to ride for Team GB at the Beijing Olympic Games. Two years later, he served as Chef d’Equipe (Team Manager) for the winning Great Britain team at the Nations Cup in Abu Dhabi. With these and a host of other top-class successes to his credit, Tim nevertheless regarded winning the coveted King George V Gold Cup at the 2010 Royal International Horse Show with Kalico Bay as the pinnacle of his career. It was the fulfilment of a dream from those early boyhood days. This Gold Cup win very much proved the no-holds-barred commitment of Tim’s personal lifetime motto ‘There’s no such word as can’t…’ Unsurprisingly, those bold words form the title of his published autobiography.
I’m Laura Stockdale, Tim’s wife and mother of our two sons, Joseph (Joe) and Mark. Our life was tragically shaken towards the end of 2018 when Tim sadly died, aged just 54, after succumbing to aggressive stomach cancer just a month after being diagnosed with the disease. Tim wanted us to celebrate his life and keep going along the competitive highway he’d mapped out. The boys are certainly on track – Joe has jumped firmly into his Dad’s saddle as an up-and-coming international show jumper; and Mark is making his name as a talented, prize-winning golfer. Tim would be proud.
Against the background of his own hard-fought success Tim’s passion was to help, support and do all he could to encourage young people in sport – especially those struggling against deprivation of one sort or another.
That is why we created the TIM STOCKDALE FOUNDATION as a charity in memory of and tribute to Tim. Its aim is very straightforward: To raise money in support of young sporting ambition. We want to nurture talent in any and every sport – not just equestrianism – where an extra helping financial hand might turn children into champions.
The Foundation has already organised a number of successful fund-raising events;
The ‘#10forTim’Relay Team Run at the Hickstead All England Jumping Course
A star-studed Tim Stockdale Foundation Golf Day at Woburn
We've sold Jumpers and T-Shirts with Tim's saying "There's No Such Word as Can't"
There have been Talks, Lecture Demonstrations and Raffles.
Mark's friends at school rowed on static machines all the way to Scotland overnight.
So far we have raised just over £110,000.
For further information and to apply for Tim Stockdale Foundation grants, please go to:
Oxfordshire Community Foundation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (number 1151621) founded in 1995.
