The much-loved show reporter and showjumping judge Margaret Shaw died on 23 April, aged 76 following a long illness.
Margaret was born in Warrington, to a non-horsey family. She and her sister Barbara developed a love of horses following family holidays riding donkeys on the beach in Rhyl, Wales. The sisters were bought ponies; one was Merrylegs, who stayed with Margaret until the age of 33.
After leaving school, in between “normal” jobs, Margaret worked on a yard with show horses, hunters and pointers. She spent time as a groom at a racing stables in Norway and was an amateur jockey who won her first ever race.
On her return to the UK she worked in offices. Her son John Lee was born in 1975 and her daughter Heather three years later.
Margaret’s love of horses was passed on to Heather, and she loved nothing more than getting Heather’s ponies ready for and going to shows.
She started writing for a local paper, and show reports for Hoofprint magazine and Northern Horse. This led to Margaret’s reporting on showing and showjumping for Horse & Hound at all the major shows, a relationship that spanned more than 30 years. She loved talking to people, asked the right questions and always rooted for the underdogs. She was greatly respected at showgrounds around the country; and people always wanted to stop and talk to her.
Margaret was also a level three British Showjumping judge, a role she “lived for”. She rarely missed a beat, she was straight and fair. It was a long-standing joke that although she would struggle with technology, she could go straight to any rule in the judges’ handbook; she knew her rules inside out. She was very proud to be asked to judge the supreme horse and pony at the 2015 Royal International Horse Show, which shows how much she was respected.
She had a zest for life and was no happier than when at a show.
Margaret’s health deteriorated but she continued judging until very recently. She also enjoyed spending time at the stables with Heather and Heather’s horse Ringo.
She is survived by Heather, John Lee, and Barbara.
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
