Obituary: Gordy Edwards
Tributes have been paid to a popular figure in the Shropshire equestrian scene.
Gordon Layton Edwards, known to everyone as Gordy, died just after Christmas aged 89.
He was well known and well respected across race meetings, point-to-points, sales or at Somerwood, the stud he and his wife Sarah ran near Shrewsbury.
Gordy was born on August 18, 1936, on a farm in Llanfechain, Powys, the third of three boys and a girl. His first love was show jumping but after an older brother started riding in point-to-point races Gordy followed suit.
When he and his mother Alice moved to Wellington in 1964 he was able to develop his own livery yard, and set up a small stud to breed and sell some jumpers, which helped spread the costs and enabled him to ride himself.
He became a very successful amateur jockey winning more than 100 races at point-to-points, hurdle races and hunter chases until he hung up his boots in 1980, aged 43.
One of his proudest moments was winning the Fraser Hunter Chase at Cartmel - an event that was also won by his brother Roy, his sister Sheila, his nephew Simon, his niece Lucy, and his great nephews Henry and Huwie.
Gordy’s best racehorse was his homebred Scallymuire, who ran in the colours of Alice Edwards, his mother, and won 25 times, came second 18 times and third three times.
He was proud to have bred horses who succeeded in National Hunt including Gunner B Long and William of York.
In 2003, he married Sarah Hopkins, herself a successful amateur jockey, celebrating the day with champagne at the last fence at Eyton-on-Severn point-to-point racecourse.
While they developed their stud at Somerwood, Sarah won five races on Bishops Hall before switching to dressage. This was a completely new discipline for both of them and one at which they had considerable success - initially winning the Retrained Racehorse dressage classes with their homebreds who were retired from racing and re-routed to dressage and latterly becoming national champion on Impression G.
When Gordy struggled to travel, he loved hearing of great-nephew Carmen winning a Grand Prix showjumping event in 2022 and his nephew Huwie’s treble at Stratford’s evening hunter chase in 2025, as well as following wins for nephews Harry and Dan Skelton.
John Wilson, his friend and fellow jockey, said concluded his eulogy by saying: “His was a full life, well lived. He was well loved and respected.”
