Richard a member of CIYMS Hockey Club, formerly Cliftonville, injured his hand while playing for Cliftonville in 1973, keeping him out of work for 4 weeks. He stopped playing and took up umpiring. Initially with the Ulster Branch and then subsequently at national and international level for Ireland he umpired in many different countries all around the world. Over the years he umpired 100 internationals including the World Cup in London in 1986 and the Champions Trophy in Karachi (1984). Once he reached the retirement age for international umpires he became an Umpire Manager on the FIH and European lists, a role which is used to help develop umpires as well as looking after them at tournaments. His highlights were his appointment to the World Cup in 2002 in Kuala Lumpur, along with the EuroHockey Championships in Padua (1999), Barcelona (2003) and Champions Trophy in Amsterdam (2000). The International Hockey Federation appointed him to serve on their Medical Commission and then on the Umpiring Committee.

Elected President of the Ulster Branch of the Irish Hockey Union in 1999, he has also served on the Ulster and Irish Umpiring Committees in various roles.

During the Men’s 1995 EuroHockey Championships held in Dublin he co-ordinated the medical support team, including arranging the Doping Control.

In 2012 Richard was elected as Vice-President of Hockey Ireland and subsequently President for two years in 2014. His highlight from this time was the men’s team qualifying for the Rio Olympics.