Robert N. Meilsoe, a renowned horseman and trainer, died peacefully at home on Feb. 20 in Aurora, Ont., after a lengthy illness. He was 59.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Mr. Meilsoe started his equestrian career under the tutelage of Charles “Chuck” Graham. In 1970, after a tour in Vietnam with the Fourth Infantry Division and receiving a Purple Heart, Mr. Meilsoe moved to King, Ont., where he ran Joker’s Hill show stable with his business partner John Weir until 1977.
He then started his own hunter/jumper show stable Gimcrack with business partner Wayne McLellan, which they operated for more than two decades. During this period, he was also the founding member of Equestrian Management Group, which runs the largest Ontario shows from their facility in Palgrave.
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Mr. Meilsoe is survived by his life partner Elaine Gaynor, mother Betty Pease, and sister Beth Page. He was predeceased by his father, Jim Meilsoe.
Memorial donations may be made to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, 110 Eglinton Avenue West, Suite 400, Toronto, ON, M4R1A3 or the Farley Foundation, 245 Commercial Street, Milton, ON L9T2J3.
