Innholdsfortegnelse for The Queen & Her Horses i The Queen & Her Horses

THE smile that beamed across Her Majesty’s face – and TV screens worldwide – when her horse Estimate won the 2013 Ascot Gold Cup said it all. For a few sweet moments the polite mask of duty was cast aside for the world to witness The Queen’s unadulterated happiness at cheering on a cherished horse to give its all. It was in the world of horses that The Queen was able to taste some part of the life she might have had were it not for the twist of fate induced by an abdicating uncle. Very few people continue to ride beyond their seventies. The Queen was so at ease in the saddle that she was still hacking out a few weeks before her death, aged 96. She was discussing…

DRIVING through the manned gates, it felt a privilege to be approaching the grounds of Balmoral Estate. The estate stud manager, Sylvia Ormiston, drove us along quiet twisty lanes, bound by majestic Scots pine and British native hardwood trees, to the main stable block and office area, only a stone’s throw from Balmoral Castle. It felt as if we’d stepped back in time, as we passed several picturesque holiday cottages built in the traditional grey granite characteristic of this area. Sylvia has been the manager of The Queen’s Highland pony stud at Balmoral for 10 years and her husband Dochy is the farm manager, looking after the Highland cattle. Initially the broodmares and youngstock were mainly based in the south at various locations, but a plan was set in motion…

NO single family has enjoyed a greater involvement in the Derby’s history than The Queen and her antecedents. Ever since George IV, as Prince of Wales, won the ninth renewal with Sir Thomas in 1788, the royal affiliation with the world’s greatest race has flourished. The distant link with George IV was renewed in 2011 when Carlton House came close to winning the race for The Queen. Sir Thomas’ victory was the first of six Derby triumphs registered by members of the Royal Family, although The Queen is not among them. Aureole’s second to Pinza in the 1953 Derby, in the year of the Coronation, is the closest she has come to matching Edward VII as the only reigning monarch to win it. So long has The Queen reigned that…

HAVING started the 1974 Flat race season with a pronounced inferiority complex and well-founded forebodings of French and Irish domination, British racing found itself last weekend in a blissfully and unexpectedly strong position. It may not last, of course, but a half-term report would have a tale to tell of success beyond most people’s wildest dreams. The latest and most delightful cause of this euphoria was, I need hardly say, Highclere’s famous triumph in the French Oaks — by all accounts both Highclere and her owner did Great Britain proud. The entente between the two countries may not be all that cordiale nowadays, but the Chantilly crowd gave The Queen and her filly a rapturous welcome. This happy, harmless scene made a sad contrast indeed with the events which disfigured…

SUCH is the atmosphere of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, redolent of the elegance of Edwardia, that any visitor newly come to it, which is to say within the past decade or so, could be forgiven for imagining that its beginnings have receded into the mists of time. On the contrary, it was a wartime babe, born of charity out of austerity, which makes its present position as the epitome of all that is graceful and stylish in the world of horse shows all the more remarkable. But if its birth was lowly, it has been brought up in surroundings, and with the assistance of Godfathers — Godmothers too — well calculated to produce just the show we now have. Count Robert Orssich, who has long been associated both with…

“IF he were human, he’d be a proper English gent,” says producer Katie Jerram of the 16.3hh thoroughbred gelding Barbers Shop, The Queen’s chaser she took on to produce as a retrained racehorse in November 2012. “You’d find him sitting in an armchair, wearing monogrammed slippers and smoking a pipe, watching the racing,” she says. Barbers Shop, the last racehorse bred by the Queen Mother, was in training with Nicky Henderson and won £143,000 during his National Hunt career. Katie, who produces several horses for The Queen, took him on for the increasingly popular Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) classes. In their first season, they claimed the Tattersalls RoR championship at the Hickstead Derby meeting, making it five wins in as many outings. “He’s been an absolute delight,” says Katie. “I’ve…

THE contribution of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to equestrianism was profound. He was not content only with enjoying horse sports as a keen competitor. He gave back a huge amount of time and commitment in leadership and management, which had great impact on competitive riding and driving throughout the latter part of the 20th century. His innovative 22-year term as president of the FEI, his work in developing the sport of driving trials, and his impact on English polo, all complemented royalty’s traditional involvement in racing and hunting, augmented by The Queen’s lifelong interest in breeding horses and ponies. Prince Philip was therefore a mainstay in the royal family’s patronage of British equestrianism throughout the post-war years and into the new millennium. He firmly encouraged his children to…

STAGING the London 2012 equestrian events at Greenwich has been controversial from the beginning, with many for the site but probably rather more against it. From my viewpoint, it was an extraordinary success and produced some of the most tantalising equestrian sport I’ve ever witnessed. Some will gripe about the cost, but you get what you pay for. The stadium and stabling were exceptional, the training facilities superb, and the stewarding relaxed and cheerful. Then there was the security, about which we had heard so much. I may have been a military man, but having the armed forces on duty at Greenwich was a breath of fresh air. They were polite, courteous, welcoming and very efficient. And then there was the sport. So much was expected from the home team,…

“WHEN I was a kid, I remember my grandparents suggesting I go to Pony Club one summer with my cousin. But I didn’t want to — I wanted to play rugby instead. Now I want to spend my whole career with horses and totally regret not learning to ride back then. If I’d started at 10, think how good I could be now! “If someone had said to me when I was 16 that I was going to have a career with horses, I would have told them where to go. I left school after my GCSEs and worked in a few hotels and did some building site work, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. Then I thought: ‘Bugger it. I’ll go and join the Army’.…

CANADIAN Mounties, North African Arabs, Australian jackeroos, and Indian cavalry riders will be among the cast of some 2,000 taking part in All The Queen’s Horses, Britain’s biggest outdoor theatrical performance. The show is being staged as part of the Royal Windsor Horse Show to pay tribute to The Queen in her Golden Jubilee year and, in particular, celebrate a lifetime’s interest in the equine world. Some 1,000 horses will be travelling to Windsor over the forthcoming week from as far away as America to take part in the night-time theatrical extravaganza, which is set against the magnificent backdrop of Windsor Castle. An awesome combination of lights, sound and cinema will be used to produce a dramatic spectacular costing £3.5m that will be more Broadway than horse show. A purpose-built…

WITH 558 horses and 2,141 participants from 18 nations, the Diamond Jubilee Pageant vindicated those who scrambled to buy a ticket before they swiftly sold out. Even the weather ceased to be a torment after the first night, allowing this mammoth event to take place under clear skies. Riders, dancers and musicians from around the globe flocked to pay tribute to The Queen. The Omanis flew in more than 100 horses and the Italian Carabinieri brought almost as many to perform their “Carousel” display in Britain for the first time. Australia’s New South Wales police borrowed British Household Cavalry blacks, customised them with white bridles and glittery quarters, and even extracted some decent lateral work. But the vote for the best horseflesh went to the elegant Canadian Mounties, whose outlines…

THE Queen’s pony Emma stood relaxed during the funeral procession as hundreds marched towards Her Majesty’s final resting place. Emma’s handler Terry Pendry LVO, BEM, stud groom and manager to The Queen at Windsor Castle, bowed his head as The Queen’s coffin passed. Many horse lovers, as well as the wider public, were deeply touched that one of the horses who had played such an important role in Her Majesty’s favourite pastime should be part of the day. Even in her later years, The Queen had enjoyed riding in the grounds at Windsor, often accompanied by Terry. Her Majesty famously opted to ride in a headscarf rather than a hat. It was particularly poignant therefore that a headscarf was placed over Emma’s saddle as she stood waiting for The Queen’s…

The working ponies wear a specially designed deer saddle while working out on the hill. It is based on a pre-World War One pack saddle which is hinged at the wither and cantle to allow it to fit a variety of ponies, and comes in three sizes (16-18in) to allow it also to fit short-coupled ponies. It has been modified to a deer saddle, although it is lighter than the traditional deer saddles. Being close contact, it is also more stable and comfortable to wear. Additionally Sylvia has designed, and makes from home, a humane-style girth to use with this saddle. It is broader than a normal girth to cover a larger surface area with less pressure points and easier to tighten equally for a more comfortable fit.…

PERHAPS to know why Her Majesty is fascinated with breeding thoroughbreds, it is important to understand how complex it is to mate, rear, train and ride a racehorse. Her Majesty has developed a deep, profound knowledge, which she has consistently worked on and thought about throughout most of her life. It takes the same sort precise expertise as a watchmaker to produce a somewhat fragile racehorse to perform on the big occasions and indeed any occasion at all – especially when they are expected to race at speeds of up to 40mph. These incredible highly charged creatures, full of blood and muscle, are developed from birth with kid gloves, and the sophisticated jigsaw of trying to put all the pieces together is a constant challenge that continues to intrigue The…

HATS off for The Queen! For the horse world there could hardly have been a happier way to mark the Silver Jubilee than to see The Queen win one of the great classics of the Flat racing season. Dunfermline’s glory in the Oaks could not have been more popular; even the backers of Durtal must have joined in the cheers. There was indeed drama at Epsom on Saturday in contrast to the apparent machine-like smoothness with which Lester Piggott had won his eighth Derby on the Wednesday with The Minstrel. It can hardly be said that Piggott’s luck deserted him on Saturday, for the great jockey does not rely on luck for victories. Yet it was luck that saved him when Durtal’s saddle slipped round as she “carted” him all…

THE Queen Mother’s love affair with National Hunt racing was instigated by the late Lord Mildmay at a Windsor Castle dinner party during the Royal Ascot week of 1949, after the King’s filly Avila had won there. During the evening, the then champion amateur rider imparted some of his enthusiasm for chasing to his fellow guests and The Queen, who in the early post-war years was becoming increasingly interested in the running of the royal horses on the flat, was persuaded to try the sister sport. Initially this was to be with a horse raced in partnership with her eldest daughter, the then Princess Elizabeth, and carrying the latter’s colours. Lord Mildmay was given the task of finding a suitable horse for the venture, and came up with Monaveen, an…

WERE it not for the burly security detail that surrounds her, The Queen would blend in perfectly with the showing aficionados that line the ringsides at Royal Windsor. She attended the first horse show in 1944, when (then Princess Elizabeth) she won the single private driving with her pony Hans and her sister Princess Margaret won the wartime utility driving class on the Fell pony Gipsy. She has never missed a show, and nothing gives her more pleasure than seeing one of her own animals — whether it’s a retired racehorse, a hunter, a Fell, a home-bred Highland or a Haflinger — triumph in her own back garden, but she seems equally happy with a good placing in strong company. And over the years, there have been many such moments.…

IN The Queen’s 90th birthday year, it is fitting that one of her most successful homebred Highland ponies will be taking part in her special birthday extravaganza at Royal Windsor Horse Show. Balmoral Erica, a 13.3hh dun mare, is no stranger to the Castle Arena, though, as in addition to taking part in the Diamond Jubilee pageant, she was Highland champion there in 2012, watched by her owner/breeder. “When I rode her in the pageant, it was her first appearance under saddle,” says producer Lizzie Briant, who will partner the mare herself this season. “Although she was just a baby, and there was so much to look at, she didn’t bat an eyelid — I was so proud of her. “Erica is without doubt one of my all-time favourite ponies,…

ASK a polo player what question they are invariably asked, and it is likely to be “have you played with the princes?” It’s not as naïve as you might think — for many, the answer is yes. Polo is synonymous with the Royal Family, whose tradition of involvement in the sport goes back as far as the 1870s, when the Prince and Princess of Wales attended matches at London’s Hurlingham Club. The polo career of Prince Charles, which spanned 40 years, was followed avidly by the public, as was that of his father, Prince Philip, by an older generation. Both father and son were talented players, each amassing an impressive number of prestigious polo titles. While Princes William and Harry limit their participation in the sport to charity and exhibition…

CARRIAGE horses were once the pride of England. It is pleasant to think that the Coronation procession, with its splendid equipages, will impress on the younger generations the more gracious transport habits of their ancestors. The part played by the Royal Mews in keeping fresh the memory of days before the coach houses were turned into garages, cannot be too highly rated. There is no doubt that all those enthusiasts who still breed and keep harness horses take a tremendous interest in the Buckingham Palace stables, and draw a good deal of pleasure and encouragement from their flourishing state. One of the problems that rests with the Crown Equerry, Colonel Sir Dermot McMorrough Kavanagh, in charge of the Royal Mews, is that of procuring horses of the right breed and…

AS torrential rain refused to relent during the pageant at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2002 to mark The Queen’s Golden Jubilee, Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex were blissfully unaware that the canopy over the royal box was filling with water. “It was like a swimming pool – and it was just about to crash down on them,” recounts show director Simon Brooks-Ward, still horrified at the prospect 20 years on, as he prepares to share his Platinum Jubilee celebration with the world this month. “The only thing we could do was get the disgusting-smelling poo sucker to suck it all out – all while the show was going on – which was brilliant apart from then it started trying to suck up the canopy. It was…

AS personal and treasured as any of the moments of equestrian glory and success listed in this issue, must be the regular rides Her Majesty still takes from Windsor and Balmoral. It’s a time when she may relax, think, chat with her accompanying groom and enjoy the outdoors — even in the company of the President of America, Ronald Reagan, in 1982 (pictured, bottom right). She may have traded horses for a mannerly Fell or Highland, but the headscarf and sheepskin saddle cover have remained, along with the unmistakably happy air of someone whose life is incomplete without time in the saddle.…

THE sport of kings and queens it may be, but through the centuries royal interest in racing has been distinctly varied and only three British monarchs — Charles II, Edward VII and the present Queen — can be regarded as true pillars of the Turf. It was Charles’ patronage of Newmarket during the 1660s that made the place the country’s main centre of racing and two centuries later Edward VII — Elizabeth’s great-grandfather — became the first significant royal owner-breeder, establishing a stud at Sandringham and winning the Derby three times, with Persimmon in 1896 and Diamond Jubilee in 1900 as Prince Of Wales, and with Minoru in 1909 as king. The Queen, though, has proved more knowledgeable and dedicated than either during her long life and reign, with an…

THE first thing a visitor to the Royal Stud at Sandringham, Norfolk, sees is a huge bronze statue of Persimmon. It has been there for more than 100 years, having been raised three years before the 1896 Derby winner and four-times champion sire’s death in 1908. It is a timely reminder of the longevity and durability of the Royal Studs. The Queen may have reigned for 60 years, but she is just one in a long line of monarchs who have bred and raced horses. Persimmon was bred by her great-grandfather Edward VII, when he was Prince of Wales, as was his full-brother, the 1900 Triple Crown hero Diamond Jubilee. There is a plaque outside the box at Sandringham in which the latter was foaled that commemorates the fact. “The…

“IN 1989 I had an invitation from Her Majesty to go to Windsor Castle. I think she was curious about this cowboy from California. They introduced me to 23 horses straight from the fields for me to have for one week at Windsor and I had saddles and bridles on them in five days. “I can’t emphasise enough her ability as a student. She doesn’t forget anything and she’s intensely interested. Sometimes when I report back to Sheikh Mohammed, it’s like, ‘I’ve only got 10 minutes, can you hit the high notes?’ “Well that’s not Her Majesty The Queen of England. She’s a detail person.” Monty makes the first of up to five visits to the UK in February to start The Queen’s young horses. “In winter time, I’m at…

DERBY Day at Epsom on Saturday was indeed a memorable occasion: the weather changed from the frightful rain and cold we had experienced during the earlier part of the week to glorious sunshine, the crowds came out in their hundreds of thousands, greater numbers than ever before, and the two horses that almost everyone was “on” came storming up the hill to take first and second places, a happy fulfilment of the illustrated prediction on our cover last week. We were all sincerely disappointed that Aureole was unable to find that little extra to bring Coronation week to a magnificent and triumphant royal finale; but we had the next best thing — victory for a king of jockeys, Gordon Richards, and that great patron of British racing over the years,…

THE Queen is still waiting for that elusive first Investec Derby. Carlton House, the 5-2 favourite who was widely expected to give her a first victory in racing’s blue riband, was an honourable third, beaten just under a length by the fast-finishing French colt Pour Moi, who swept from last to first with an exceptional turn of foot. Her Majesty may now have had 10 attempts at winning the race in 58 years, but for winning jockey Mickael Barzalona, the 19-year-old French riding sensation, the wait had been just over two minutes. He was victorious at the first attempt after only four rides round the course, five if you include a canter round Tattenham Corner on Pour Moi at Epsom’s “Breakfast with the Stars” 10 days prior. “Could only finish…

JUMP racing owes much of its popular status today to the late Queen Mother. While traditionally Flat racing was “the sport of Kings”, National Hunt was its poor relation. When Queen Elizabeth, as she was then, made her first foray into that muddy, gritty world of fairytales and heartache nearly 70 years ago, she changed its face forever. Nowadays, the Queen Mother’s favourite sport arguably surpasses the summer game in terms of popularity and social interest. So how did this legacy evolve, and what are her great stories that characterise the flavour of the world she so cherished? Sparking an enduring passion THE Queen Mother’s interest in racing was first piqued in 1949, when Lord Mildmay, a leading amateur jockey, was dining in between the then Queen and her daughter,…

IT was a Saturday evening on the edge of the polo ground at Longdole, near Birdlip in Gloucestershire, when I caught up with the Prince of Wales. We went back to October 1980, to Ludlow racecourse, the Clun Handicap Steeplechase for amateur riders, a field of 12 and a 10-year-old bay gelding called Allibar. “He was found for me in Ireland by Tom Cooper, that wonderful old bloodstock agent. What was needed, as far as I was concerned, was a proper old schoolmaster, as I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Allibar had done quite a bit of racing I think, before he came to me, but anyway, he was a fantastic horse. He was just the right sort for me, took a proper hold, you didn’t have…

“I ACTUALLY declined the offer of having him first time around”, admits Bridget Garner, producer of partbred Arab Whalton Highwayman (Fred) and mother to his rider, Kinvara. “It was about three years ago when I received a phone call from Joanne MacInnes of the Whalton stud, who told me about a stallion she believed should be cut and started under saddle. I wasn’t keen on the idea of having a just-cut gelding for Kinvara. I thought it would be nightmare — how wrong I was.” On the advice of Joanne’s friend, Jackie Thompson — who touted the then nine-year-old as one of the best the Whalton prefix has produced — Bridget made the trip from her North Wales base to visit the still entire Fred at Joanne’s yard in Carlisle.…

GROWING up at Gatcombe Park surrounded by horses, the emphasis was on learning to ride properly, and not just being a “passenger,” says Zara Tindall (pictured below, as a child at Windsor). “Ponies were never machines, they were animals. You had to learn your trade, and learn the personality of your pony. My mother was very much someone who, if you fell off, would be right there telling you to get back on.” When the Princess started race-riding in the 1980s, Zara used to accompany her riding out for trainer David Nicholson. “She always wished she’d done that before eventing, because she thought she saw a stride better after going race-riding,” adds Zara, who says she has benefited from the insight into fitness, galloping and jumping that racing has provided.…

EARLY YEARS ZARA was just 18 and Toytown (Noddy) was rising seven when they teamed up in the winter of 1999/2000 (see Mark Phillips’ story, right). The horse had a price tag of £24,000. The chestnut — not yet sporting his famous white spots, which came later in life — had competed at pre-novice and novice with Meryl Winter (now Connaughton) and he and Zara accrued good placings in 2000, stepping up to intermediate in August. By the end of the following season they had completed their first two CCI2*s, at Burgie and Windsor, although the showjumping demons that would haunt them showed at Windsor, where they had five fences down. “I WAS doing a Pony Club instructor’s seminar somewhere near Gatwick and spotted Toytown with Meryl Winter. I asked…

FOR the first time since her Coronation in 1953, The Queen will ride through the streets of London in the Gold State Coach, in all its glittering magnificence and drawn by eight postillion horses. The State Coach is a gorgeous anachronism, one of the set pieces in the pageantry and pomp, which the British can still produce so well. It has been newly gilded for the Silver Jubilee, making even more exotic its extraordinary carvings: eight palm trees, a lion’s head, three cherubs, the royal crown, the sceptre, the sword of state and the ensign of Knighthood; plus, such “incidentals” as the driver’s footboard in the shape of a large scallop shell ornamented with bunches of reeds, a bundle of lances, and a large volute shell with each end terminating…

NO one could be in any doubt that this is Silver Jubilee year: even the smallest villages are organising celebrations. Even the countryside, with the oilseed rape now a carpet of yellow, displays its own field of a cloth of gold. But, of course, the climax of it all comes on 7 June, when the Queen and Prince Philip process in the famous gold coach, last used at the Coronation, from Buckingham Palace to St Paul’s. In changing times, it is gratifying, and really very remarkable, to realise that certain things change little, even after 40 years; and it is, mercifully, those things most connected with our monarchy that change least. Recently I came across an ancient parish magazine. In it there was an account of the Silver Jubilee procession…