Peggy Augustus

Born in 1932, Peggy died with her beloved rescue dogs Minnie Pearl and Monty Heeler by her side July 30th at her farm, Old Keswick where she had lived since 1952. She was the daughter of Ellsworth Hunt Augustus and Elizabeth Good Augustus (later Mrs. John S. Knight) of Waite Hill, Willoughby, Ohio and is survived by nieces and nephews Wendy Augustus, Diane Augustus, Linda Augustus, Evan Jones, Dylan Jones, Darcy Hitchcock, Daniel Hitchcock.

She grew up riding and driving ponies and horses and she enjoyed a very successful life showing hunters for many years and later breeding, selling and racing Thoroughbred racehorses. She loved her whippets and her many rescue dogs.

She was inducted into five Halls of Fame, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the Virginia Horse Show Association Hall of Fame, the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame, the National Horse Show Foundation Hall of Fame and the Virginia Thoroughbred Association Hall of Fame (which included her mother and Keswick Stables). She was honored as a "Living Legend of Madison Square Garden" and by a full page "Pat on the Back" by Sports Illustrated. She was also the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association Virginia Breeder of the Year.

She was a Founding Member of the Keswick Club and became a member of the Keswick Hunt Club in 1951 to ride on the winning hunt team for the KHC at Madison Square Garden that year.

Her horses Waiting Home, Little Sailor, and Sutton Place are inducted in both the Virginia Horse Association Hall of Fame and the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame. She bred and sold Eclipse Award winners, Johnny D. and Stellar Wind who was also Virginia Thoroughbred Association Virginia bred Horse of the Year three times and other Virginia Thoroughbred Association award winners too numerous to list.

She was one of the top sellers at the Saratoga Yearling Sale where she sold a filly for the World Record price of $2.1million. She also sold the second highest price yearling ever sold at Saratoga for $4 million. She was the only owner/breeder to sell five yearlings that went on to win over a million dollars. She won the $1 million Rothmans International Stake with her favorite "buy back" Husband.

She was a member of the board of the Piedmont Environmental Foundation, the Virginia Thoroughbred Association, the Virginia Thoroughbred Project, the Keswick Hunt Club, and the Keswick Club.

A private service will be held at a later date to scatter her ashes around the graves of her many dogs and her favorite horse, Husband.

In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to the Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA or to an animal charity of your choice.