Edward John Farrant MBE, the jockey, coach, proprietor and point-to-point steward died on 4 April, aged 85.
John might be remembered for his ardour for racing, which was funded by his understanding of and experience in business poultry. The latter earned him his cherished MBE, and the previous gave him one of the best moments of his life.
In an interview celebrating his 30 years as editor of Poultry World he stated: “The one factor I ever wished to do was trip racehorses, which I did as an novice for 30 years.”
He was proud to succeed in greater than 100 Nationwide Hunt winners as a rider, coach and proprietor. After his retirement his efforts had been directed into native point-to-points as a steward and clerk of the course for the East Sussex and Romney Marsh. He continued to trip his beloved racehorse Quarrymount, or Q, till he was 84.
Realizing how arduous it’s to get on the racing ladder he was all the time keen to present younger riders an opportunity – caring extra concerning the alternative than the place his personal horse may end. Rupert Farrant, Joe Carden, Chris Gordon, Helen Gordon, Freddie Gordon and Tom Cannon had been among the many amateurs and professionals he assisted.
John grew up in Northiam, East Sussex, on the household farm with many cousins. Holidays had been spent harvesting, haymaking, taking fruit and greens to market and timber to the mill – and driving ponies. He was one of many founder members, together with his cousins, of the Romney Marsh department of The Pony Membership in 1948.
He began point-to-pointing whereas at Wye School, successful his first race in 1958, and his first Nationwide Hunt race, on Tom Southern’s Scottish Flight, at Lingfield in 1959. Lingfield was pricey to his coronary heart because it additionally offered wins because the proprietor of Ramore Will. Folkestone additionally held particular reminiscences as he rode and educated his personal horse Jap Admiral to win the Ted Lengthy Trophy in 1976.
At all times a tough employee, John fitted driving round every day commuting to London from dwelling on the Sussex coast and overseeing his 18,000-bird egg farm. The slogan of the Sixties “Go to work on an egg” may have been coined for him. Extremely he discovered time to work on a number of committees for the poultry trade. The unquestioning time and vitality he put into these contributed to his being appointed MBE.
He was a really calm and amenable man; it took rather a lot to ruffle his feathers – however they had been properly and actually ruffled by the Edwina Currie and salmonella in eggs controversy in 1988, on which he’s quoted on Wikipedia. On the time he had simply moved to Litlington together with his second spouse Anne. The operating of the egg deliveries was left to a younger Chris Gordon who was making an attempt to get on the racing ladder. In his ever-generous means John helped Chris achieve rides and horses to coach.
Just a few years later he was rewarded with one among his proudest moments when his son Rupert gained the Kent Grand Nationwide on the home-trained Bargill. A number of a long time later his religion in Chris Gordon was rewarded when Chris sourced profitable chasers Quarrymount, Days Of Pleasure, Ballyheigue Bay and Ramore Will. Quarrymount was Chris’s first winner as a licensed coach.
Mr Farrant’s funeral is at 3pm on 1 Might, at Wealden Crematorium, Horam. No flowers. Donations by way of Simply Giving in help of the Injured Jockeys Funds.
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