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Merely-A-Monarch: A ‘superstar from day one’ who made the Olympic shortlist in all three equestrian disciplines *H&H Plus*

Martha Terry Martha Terry

    • A “superstar from day one”, Merely-A-Monarch rose to every occasion with Anneli Drummond-Hay, making the Olympic shortlist in all three equestrian disciplines. Martha Terry finds out more about his rollercoaster career

    WHEN Anneli Drummond-Hay put a wanted advert in Horse & Hound for a potential eventer in 1957, she could little predict how the resulting purchase would define her entire career. That young horse, whom she named Merely-A-Monarch, would go on to win the inaugural Burghley, then Badminton, before switching to showjumping and winning dozens of grands prix and Nations Cups around the world.

    He was shortlisted for the Olympic Games in all three disciplines, and talent-spotted by a top National Hunt trainer of the time as a shoe-in for the Gold Cup. No other horse in history has proved quite as versatile nor achieved such success across the disciplines.

    Fate played its part after that initial advert.

    This feature is also available to read in this Thursday’s H&H magazine (22 April, 2021)

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    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
    Martha Terry