Tom Mannos was known as “ The Voice of Equestrian Sport,” a polished and professional announcer heard everywhere from the Hampton Classic to Madison Square Garden, Equitana, the Belmont Park Horse Fair, the Middlesex County Horse Show and dozens of other competitions and events.
That memorable voice went silent on August 11 after a long bout with cancer, but those who heard him over the microphone or met him on various occasions will never forget his warmth and kindness. He knew how to smooth things over if someone had a bad experience in the show ring, whether they were a pony rider or competing in a grand prix. Just as charming in person, he was so knowledgeable in a broad range of equestrian topics that those listening to him at the shows always learned something.
Tom Mannos announcing the Belmont Horse Fair.
Tom got introduced to horses when he was nine, spending a summer on his uncle’s Montana ranch, then going on to become involved with reining and cutting horses. Wherever he went, he liked to ride, whether in the U.S., Canada or the Caribbean.
Born in Chicago in 1926, Tom was in the military during World War II and stationed in Korea, where he worked in communications. Upon retiring from the service as a communications chief, he returned to Chicago to start a radio station with five of his fellow veterans, who cashed in their GI Bills and constructed the station, building and all, creating WRBI, Radio Blue Island.
Tom was a graduate of the Radio Institute of Chicago and a radio broadcaster, television actor, and announcer. After moving to Oyster Bay, N.Y., he became an advertising executive with stints at both Robert Hall Clothes, where he was responsible for all company advertising, including the production of jingles and television commercials, and DDB Needham, where he managed the Volkswagen, GTE and Seagram’s Crown Royal accounts before retiring in 1991.
His involvement with shows came when he bought his son, Mark, a horse. After attending competitions, he realized they needed better announcing and public address systems. His play-by-play on a trail class at a schooling show brought him an offer to announce his first competition recognized by the American Horse Shows Association (the predecessor of the U.S. Equestrian Federation.)
He would go on to appear at more than 30 shows a year with his sound system, which became TM Sound, with 20 loudspeakers, six amplifiers, two miles of wiring and 42 radios that he took from show to show in a three-quarter ton van.
He was twice honored with the Jimmy Walsh Trophy for more than a half-century of service to the Long Island Professional Horseman’s Association.
Tom Mannos was a famiiar face behind the mic at so many equestrian events.
Survivors include his son, Mark; sisters Adele Quick, Estelle Disselhorst and Jeanine McLaughlin, as well as his partner of 32 years, Karyn Malinowski, founding director of the Rutgers Equine Science Center.
Karyn recalled him as a “gentle person who cared about all human beings. He tried to make things happen.”
The two liked to ride together in the Dominican Republic, but she made sure his riding would continue after the vacations by buying him 22-year-old Lord Nelson, a retired Rutgers University patrol horse. Even when he was in his 80s, Tom would enjoy riding Lord Nelson (who lived to be 42) around the horse’s home at a Wrightstown farm.
There will be a funeral mass with military honors for Tom at 10:30 a.m. Saturday Aug. 14 at St. Dominic Church Chapel, 93 Anstice St., Oyster Bay, N.Y.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Tom’s memory to the Rutgers Equine Science Center, ASB II, 57 US Hwy 1, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.