Five things you didn’t know about The Queen’s life with horses

Celebrations for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee have started but how much do you know about her life with horses?  

From racehorses to hunters, sports horses and native ponies, there’s barely a corner of the equestrian world Her Majesty The Queen hasn’t touch. She still enjoys riding to this day and has been influential over many an equine breeding programme – but how much do you know about her life with horses?

1. A special performance was put on to kickstart her Platinum Jubilee celebrations

The Queen rarely looks happier than when she’s pictured within close proximity to a horse, and while mainstream media reported with surprise when she made an appearance at this year’s Royal Windsor despite taking fewer public engagements than usual, the equestrian world expected nothing less. Why is that? Well, the Queen has attended Royal Windsor Horse Show every year since it first began in 1943, so it makes sense that celebrations for her Platinum Jubilee should commence at her favourite show – after all, the classes take place in what is essentially her back garden.

A special highlight for this year’s show was ‘A Gallop Through History’ – a spectacle involving 500 horses and 1,300 performers that promised to be like nothing ever seen before. Check out some of the highlights below:

2. The Queen breeds a herd of Highland ponies at Bamoral Castle

Credit: Royal Windsor Horse Show

The ponies are bred to work on the estate, but there are a number of them making waves on the show circuit, too. Star of the Balmoral ponies this year is Balmoral Leia, who scored a win for The Queen when she secured the Royal Windsor Horse Show Highland pony title, then went one better to stand supreme mountain and moorland in-hand champion. Five-year-old Leia is broken to ride and it’s hoped that she’ll make a successful ridden prospect in the years to come.

3. To mark the Platinum Jubilee, The Queen scored three wins at this year’s Windsor

Credit: Royal Windsor Horse Show

Her Majesty had a massive 41 horses entered to take part in this year’s show and, of these, three became winners. This included six-year-old Daydream III, who took the flat ridden show horse class for the second year in a row with her producer Katie Jerram-Hunnable. The Millenium mare was also fourth in the novice hacks. The Queen’s homebred plaited, Sunbeam, won the non-native coloured horse handled by Chris Hunnable, and the pair were later hailed reserve section champion.

Turning attention to the pony classes, we’ve already mentioned the fantastic Leia. However, the Queen’s yearling colt Balmoral Duke – by Balmoral Mandarin who was also entered in the ridden ranks and came third (and highest placed Highland in a mixed Highland, Fell and Dales class) with young jockey Libby Grota – was third in his youngstock class, handled by Henry Hird.

The Queen also enjoyed successes with Balmoral Vocalist and Balmoral Firework who were third and fourth in the Fell youngstock classes. And, some of her other top results included two Cleveland bays in the top five of their ridden class – Wyevale Harry and Hampton Court Margin.

4. The Queen is heavily involved with the owning and breeding of racehorses

Credit: Jordan Brooking Photography

We don’t have time to list all of the racehorses The Queen has owned or bred, however, there’s one super-special speed horse that springs to mind when we think about her recent successes, and that’s none other than the magnificent Barbers Shop, now 20.

The gelding was bred by Queen Elizabeth I, The Queen Mother, and won eight times for his trainer Nicky Henderson before retiring from the racetrack in 2012. His wins included a listed chase win, and he was placed in the King George VI and Hennessy Gold Cup, too. After retiring, he began his second career with show rider Katie Jerram-Hunnable, with whom he won many championship titles and bowed out with a special retirement ceremony in 2018 at Royal Windsor, after standing supreme ridden champion there in 2017.

Did you know?

The Queen was presented with a rocking horse replica of Barbers Shop by Stevenson Brothers Rocking Horses, in honour of her 70 years on the throne.

5. She’s a patron of the Fell Pony Society

Credit: Henry Dallal Photography

Ahead of The Queen’s 96th birthday earlier this year, Royal Windsor Horse Show released a new photograph of Her Majesty with two of her Fell ponies, Bybeck Katie and Bybeck Nightingale. Taken in the grounds of Windsor Castle, The Queen has long been a fan of Fell ponies and is patron of the breed society. In fact, with the breed so close to The Queen’s heart, a special parade of Fell ponies was organised at Royal Windsor, featuring more than 30 fantastic examples of the breed, both ridden and in-hand, from all over the country.