Merlin Meakin on Monarch

“MONARCH was a lad, always very naughty,” says the horse’s groom Merlin Meakin, who competed four times at Badminton herself in the 1970s (pictured on Lynette). “He’d buck and leap about, and taught me never to ride without my hands on the neck strap.

“He could nip a bit in the stable – if he was ill I’d sleep in there with him, and he’d nip me every now and then! But he’d do anything for a carrot – we taught him to bow and do other tricks, and he’d eat sugar lumps out of my mouth. He once accidentally bit my lip and I still have the scar.

“I hunted him for three years with the Bicester when he retired – he was always lively and would fly-jump. I rode him daily until he died. If he were competing today, he would definitely be a great. I’ll never see another one like him. But it was his partnership with Anneli that made him. He could have excelled in any discipline, and she was a truly great rider who learnt to bring out the best of his ability.”