Thursday, 29 September 2022
All at British Equestrian were extremely saddened to learn of the recent passing of Brendan Murray, farrier to the British eventing championship teams for over two decades, on September 9 2022. He died aged 64 after a short but gallant battle with a very aggressive form of cancer. Brendan (pictured above, far right) was always a core part of the stables team at every championship, and carried out his role with great dedication, care and humour.
Having always had a strong affiliation with animals, large and small, Brendan worked at the London Zoo prior to joining the King’s Troop RHA in 1980. He went on to complete his 22 years of service, ending as Master Farrier for the regiment. An honour of his military career was to be part of the funeral cortege for Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, where he acted as the brake man on the gun carriage. He also had the task of securing 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 the role of British Equestrian Team Farrier for eventing, which he held for 26 years, including duty at seven Olympic Games. He always referred to his role was ’stewardship’ because he didn’t routinely shoe the team horses, but instead worked with each athlete’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, Brendan was a lynchpin behind the scenes. He was usually part of the pre-arrival party, who set up the stables and British Equestrian Team camp, and it was something he took enormous pride in – every bed prepared perfectly, every stable made safe for its occupier, 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 always there to support in good times and bad.
At the World Equestrian Games in 2010, Brendan was given the honour of carrying the British flag for the opening ceremony and, later that year, he was presented with a British Equestrian Medal of Honour for outstanding achievement and contribution to the international equestrian world. In 2016, he carried out his final championship duty at the Rio Olympics, before handing the stewardship to the current Eventing Team Farrier, Greig Elliott.
Away from his team duties, Brendan was also the show farrier at The London Horse Show Olympia for many years. He had a little-known side-line in the film industry, both as a stunt rider and farrier, and even appeared on-screen as a farrier in the much-acclaimed Steven Spielberg film War Horse. His name also appears in the credits for Gladiator, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Huntsman, to name but a few.
British Equestrian’s Head of Performance Operations and Logistics, Sophie Thomas, who completed 13 senior championships with Brendan between 2002 and 2015, commented: “The equestrian community has certainly lost one of our good guys with Brendan’s passing. 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.
“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 British Equestrian and the World Class Programme, we send our deepest condolences to Brendan’s loved ones for their painful loss.”
Brendan had scaled back his work in recent years and was looking forward to a well-earned retirement, allowing him to spend more time with partner Louise Edwards, daughters Hannah and Melissa, and wider family and friends.
Brendan always counted himself as very fortunate to be able to represent his country in a role he loved, but it’s actually us who are fortunate to have enjoyed his company, expertise, dedication and support over many years. Rest in peace, Brendan – you’ll be very much missed by many.
Brendan’s funeral will take place at 11am on Friday 30 September at Thorney Abbey, Thorney, Peterborough PE6 0QA. Family flowers only, but donations may be made to Arthur Rank Hospice and Royal Hospital Chelsea, The Chelsea Pensioners. For those who are unable to attend and wish to see the service, there will be a livestream – there is a QR code on the streaming page to make donations. [link In Loving Memory Of Brendan Murray - Funeral Streaming]