Adrian Simpson, a leading owner of point-to-pointers and a former director of the Countryside Alliance in Wales, has died. He was 69.
In joint-ownerships, Simpson had in recent years enjoyed a string of victories with horses trained and ridden by fellow Welshman Bradley Gibbs. They included the outstanding mare Highway Jewel, who won seven races and scored at Cheltenham’s evening hunters’ chase meeting.
That was also the venue for a victory in the intermediate race final by Captain McGinley, although one of Simpson’s saddest disappointments involved Theshoddytradesman, a strapping horse of enormous potential and unbeaten in four point-to-points, but who was struck into when favourite for the intermediate final and never raced again.
Theshoddytradesman (Bradley Gibbs) carries Simpson's colours to victory at Chipley Park in 2023 (Ce)
Another talented horse in which Simpson was involved, Moral Hazard, won seven races while trained by Beverley Thomas from her home in West Wales. A long-time administrator in the sport, Thomas is currently the Point-to-Point Secretaries’ Association’s joint-secretary in Wales and was involved in ownership on a number of good horses with Simpson.
She said of him: “Adrian had an amazing ability to avoid buying duds. There were two or three who weren’t up to it, but overall he bought the right horse. Many of them were sourced from Jimmy Kelly in Ireland, and he would drive Jimmy mad by turning down 40 horses, but when he spotted one he wanted he would say ‘Get down there Jimmy and get that one bought’.
“When Highway Jewel arrived here I looked at her and thought what a pokey little thing she was, 15.2 hands and probably best suited to pulling a trap, and I said to Adrian ‘What on earth have you bought this for?’. I chose not to have a share in her, but he was proved right again.”
While Thomas was training the talented mare Baby Whale she was sent a horse jointly-owned by Simpson for pre-training. That established a long and successful partnership in horses, but she also paid tribute to another side of his life, saying: “Adrian was a tremendous organiser. Initially he worked for Carmarthenshire County Council, but was invariably taking time off to go hunting. The Countryside Alliance then head-hunted him, going outside the mould of the established country gentlemen. When the hunting ban came in he put all the legal teams in place to help defend hunt staff across Britain. He also managed all the cases and was in Coventry for a court hearing as recently as February.”
Simpson and trainer/rider Bradley Gibbs, a team who won many races together (Ce)
Simpson wrote for Countrymen’s Weekly, he founded the highly successful Welsh Game Show and initiated the Wales Area Countryside Alliance point-to-point which was held at Bonvilston for a number of years. He was an organiser for the Liberty & Livelihood marches through London and, on one occasion, he and like-minded colleagues ensured a minister who was pressing for a hunting ban was too late to reach their party conference to make a speech. He invited television cameras along to film the escapade.
Blighted by lung cancer which became apparent several years ago, Simpson cheerfully shrugged off his illness and remained an ever-present at race meetings, but only after spending hours on the phone in the week beforehand talking and planning to whoever was riding his horses. His colours crossed the line first most recently at the Duke Of Beaufort’s Didmarton meeting, although Crocodile Lounge was subsequently disqualified. It was a rare occasion on which Simpson was unable to attend after going into hospital to await further treatment. His condition deteriorated and he died in the early hours of Monday morning.
He leaves behind his wife Delyth and their daughter Erin.