Brendan Murray, the farrier to the British eventing championship team for more than two decades died on 9 September aged 64, from cancer.
In 1980, Mr Murray joined The King’s Troop, where he completed 22 years of service that ended as master farrier for the regiment. An honour of his military career was being part of the cortege for Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, where he acted as brake man on the gun carriage. He also secured the coffin on to the funeral board above the gun – no mean feat with an estimated two billion people watching.
In 1992 he was appointed British Equestrian team farrier for eventing, a position he held for 26 years, including eight Olympics. He referred to his role as a ’stewardship’ because he didn’t routinely shoe the team horses. Instead, he worked with each rider’s home farrier in the build-up to a championship. They did the preparation, then he took over as caretaker for the championship period, on standby to fix a loose or cast shoe at a moment’s notice.
At every championship, Mr Murray was a linchpin behind the scenes. He was usually part of the pre-arrival party that set up the stables and team camp, something he took enormous pride in. Every bed was prepared perfectly, every Union flag hung with precision, and everything stored in its proper place. He also made it his duty to ensure the grooms were well catered for, and he was always there to support in good times and bad.
In 2010, he carried the British flag for the opening ceremony at the World Equestrian Games. That year, he received the British Equestrian Medal of Honour for outstanding achievement and contribution to the international equestrian world. In 2016, he worked his final championship, the Rio Olympics, after which he handed the stewardship to current eventing team farrier, Greig Elliott.
Mr Murray was the show farrier at the London Horse Show, Olympia, for many years. He had a sideline in the film industry as a stunt rider and farrier, and appeared on screen as a farrier in War Horse. His name also appears in the credits for Gladiator, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Huntsman, to name a few.
Sophie Thomas, British Equestrian’s (BEF) head of performance operations and logistics, completed 13 senior championships with Brendan between 2002 and 2015 and said the equestrian community had lost one of its “good guys”.
“Every championship spent with Brendan left me with such happy memories. His dedication, tireless energy and pride in a job well done were unique – but above all else, he was just one of the nicest people around. No job was too much, no day was too long. He just carried on, always with the best sense of humour I’ve ever found,” she said.
“The fact he passed away within hours of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, whom he served loyally and with utter respect, is not lost on many. On behalf of all in BEF and the World Class Programme, we send our deepest condolences to Brendan’s loved ones for their painful loss.”
He is survived by his partner Louise Edwards, and daughters Hannah and Melissa.
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