‘She gave her whole heart’: farewell to ‘diva’ mare who went from advanced eventing to Pony Club dream
Meerlust Lady went from advanced eventing to Pony Club tetrathlon and excelled at both
The owners of a “fiery, opinionated diva” who went from advanced eventing to excelling at tetrathlon with a 12-year-old boy have paid tribute to her heart and spirit, after her death aged 21.
Jayne Wagstaffe told H&H that Meerlust Lady, known as Mags or Maggie, had two people, eventer Richard Skelt and Jayne’s son Tom, and she was lucky enough to find both of them.
“She was nappy, difficult, had her own opinion on how life was meant to be, and proved a challenge to say the least!” she said. “But once you were her ‘person’, she gave you her whole heart.”
Jayne had known Maggie for years as she was a friend of Richard, who evented her up to advanced without a cross-country fault at that level.
“I’d watched her progress and Richard said ‘She’s not going to make a five-star horse, would you like her for Tom?’ I said ‘Good god, yes please’!
“Tom was only 12 years old and a fiery 16.3hh opinionated diva may have seemed a strange choice, but Tom and Mags clicked, they were like double trouble. Tom’s very laid-back, and his 14.1hh was whizzy and quirky, so I knew he’d get on with her.
“He’d seen her out hunting and said she was lovely, so I didn’t tell him, just put her in the stable and said ‘There’s a surprise for you in the stable’ and his little face lit up.”
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Meerlust Lady: from eventing to tetrathlon
Tom and Mags did all the Pony Club activities together – “except dressage, which she hated as much as he did!” They were on the winning England team at the tetrathlon junior regionals and had numerous 1,800 rides at junior and senior championships.
“Mags had one speed – fast, with Tom loving every minute!” Jayne said. “Cross-country, and hunting, were her thing. They represented England, did the tet champs, she never had a cross-country fault, and usually overtook the person in front of her.”
Tom and Meerlust Lady also represented the Fitzwilliam Hunt branch of the Pony Club in team showjumping, helping contribute to a placing, and won a chase-me-Charlie at Burghley camp, although Jayne said she is unsure what height they cleared as she had her eyes closed.
“I thought ‘Good god’, but I trusted her, there was no way she was going to touch a pole,” she said.
“Tom could mess up a stride and she’s just cock an ear and be ‘I’ve got this’’ I always knew she was safe. She was worth her weight in gold.”
Mags hunted for 15 seasons, which Jayne said she always loved, and the family bred a foal from her, by embryo transfer, who is now with Simon Grieve. Jayne said she thrived most in work, becoming “increasingly opinionated if she didn’t hunt regularly”, but that she had to make the call for her this summer.
“It was awful [having to make the decision] but it was absolutely the best thing for her,” Jayne said. “She was a once-in-a-lifetime horse, a boy’s dream. ‘Legend’ is a word used loosely, but when you read her CV you’ll agree she was truly worthy of the accolade.
“We will for ever be grateful to Mags and the memories she gave us.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.