Hartley Edwards, Elwyn 1927-2007 (Elwyn Hartley Edwards, Edward Leyhart)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born April 17, 1927, at sea; died December 9, 2007. Equestrian rider, equine authority, business director, lecturer, editor, and author. Hartley Edwards was born into a military family and raised in India. There he learned to ride a horse as a child, and there he later spent more than ten years as an officer in the Brigade of Gurkhas of the British Army, an infantry unit of Nepalese soldiers fighting under the direction of British officers. He settled in England in 1956 and devoted the rest of his life to equestrian activities and related businesses. As the director of a saddlery for almost ten years, Hartley Edwards became an expert on all the equipment that horses and their riders need for every possible type of equestrian activity. He also became an authority on breeds of horses, equestrian competition, and the judging of equine stock and equestrian performers. He took his knowledge to the lecture circuit, where he was said to be an engaging and enthusiastic speaker, and he expended considerable effort as a mentor to the young and a supporter of horse-related charities. Hartley Edwards was the editor of Riding magazine from 1964 to 1981 and contributed a column to British Horse for many years. His charitable work included patronage of the Horse and Pony Protection Association and service as an officer of the Riding for the Disabled Association. Hartley Edwards wrote more than thirty books on horses, saddlery and other equipment, horseback riding, and horse ownership and care. They were described as encyclopedic in scope, impeccable in their accuracy, and exceptional for their clarity. Several books went through multiple editions (Saddlery was published first in 1963 and revised as recently as 2007) and were widely translated. His other books include The Complete Book of the Horse (1973), The Ultimate Horse Book (1991), The Encyclopedia of the Horse (1994), and Wild Horses: A Spirit Unbroken (1995). Hartley Edwards reportedly wrote, at least occasionally, under the pseudonym Edward Leyhart.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Times (London, England), December 31, 2007, p. 46.