‘I still want to be jumping when I’m 80’: no stopping horse and rider with combined age of 94

There is “no stopping” a veteran horse and rider combination with a combined age of 94, as they stand at the top of three showjumping leagues.

Maggie Richardson, 70, and her 24-year-old mare Black Beauty’s Quest (BB) lead the Vale View Jump4Joy unaffiliated overall winter jumping league, and the Elms Farm unaffiliated 70cm and 80cm horse leagues.

“I’m so pleased with BB, especially at our age. We’re beating these youngsters, and it drives me. We’re not just out there to take part,” Maggie told H&H.

“BB enjoys it, she knows when we’re going out on the lorry. She takes great care of me, and I try to take great care of her.”

Maggie keeps BB fit and healthy with plenty of hacking, and rest days before and after competitions, and they only jump at shows.

“I try to keep her routine going and it seems to work for us,” said Maggie.

“We hack around the cross-country course at the yard and once a week I let her have a blast because she likes to do that, and I like her to open up her lungs.”

The Vale View league concludes at the end of March, and the Elms Farm leagues on 6 April. Maggie and BB will then contest the summer leagues, and Maggie hopes to attend the Veteran Horse Society national championships in September.

“I have to pinch myself. I think ‘How on earth did I get to this?’ There is no stopping BB and I can’t believe what I’m doing. A lot of people say because of my age, ‘You’re amazing, you do so well’, but I can only put it down to my good health that I can still do what I’m doing – and I’ve got an unbelievable little mare,” said Maggie, who has been an inspiration to other riders.

“People say, ‘You’ve made me feel like I want to get back in the saddle’. I feel like I’m doing something good, and if you can be inspirational, that can’t be a bad thing. I still want to be showjumping when I’m 80.”

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