How to paint your own patriotic pony

To celebrate this very special year for Britain, which includes both the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympic Games, the organisers of the forthcoming Barbury International Horse Trials (28 June – 1 July) organised a unique photoshoot.

Former racehorse Natterjack spent some five hours being ‘painted’ with the Union flag using liquid chalk pens. He was then joined by British eventer Laura Collett wearing some rather unusual riding gear for the iconic photos, which feature Barbury’s signature ‘Stonehenge’ fence in the background.

On paper draw a diagram of the union flag and how it will fit onto the horse
The horse needs to be squeaky clean and have a short coat, which will help the liquid chalk pens go on
Mark out on the horse the central cross area of the union jack with tape
Paint this area in red using the liquid chalk pens
Mark out the diagonal elements of the cross which will feature white and red, then begin to fill these areas in accordingly, red first
With blue fill in the main areas, including the neck and head, taking care around the eyes
Include a red and white strip on the bottom half of the head, to break up the blue
For a more intense colour, add a second coat of chalk
Don’t expect your horse to stand throughout the painting without breaks to stretch their legs and the odd treat
Stand back and admire your handy work