Haflingers, Norwegian Fjords, warmbloods and cobs: what a way to start 2017!
An equine encyclopedia-worth of horses featured in this year's New Year's Day Parade in London last week (1 January) — from Arabs to American Quarter Horses
For anyone in the market of putting their equine breed knowledge to the test, London’s New Year’s Day Parade was the place to be.
‘All The Queen’s Horses‘ captivated the 500,000 strong crowd for the sixth year with their equestrian injection to proceedings.
Breeds from across the globe were represented with Spanish, American Quarter horses, Haflingers, Norwegian Fjords, Holsteins, warmbloods, traditional cobs, thoroughbreds, Appaloosas, Irish sport horses, Welsh section As, Arabs and miniature horses all taking to the capital’s streets to ring in the New Year.
With this year’s ‘Lights, Camera, Action‘ theme, horses and riders replicated superheroes and famous films including Annie Get Your Gun, Lawrence of Arabia, 101 Dalmatians, Oliver Twist, Ben Hur, Moulin Rouge, Star Wars, Mary Poppins and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
And the age range was as diverse as the costumes – the youngest rider was just five and the oldest was 70; the youngest horse was four and the oldest was 27.
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“It was another magical parade for All The Queen’s Horses, which would not be possible without the help of the 200 enthusiastic and passionate equestrians who spend the rest of the year planning this one day event of a lifetime,” said All The Queen’s Horses founder and organiser Caroline Marsh.
“Thanks to all the riders and of course the horses and ponies who behaved impeccably even when faced with stilt walkers with wings, a steel band and animals covered in fake grass,” she said. “We were also pleased that the horses didn’t try and eat them!”
London’s New Year’s Day Parade features 10,000 performers in total, representing the London boroughs and countries across the globe — a far cry from the inaugural parade in 1987 which had 2,000 performers.
It is broadcast in the UK and across the world, reaching an audience of 300,000,000.
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A graduate from Durham University, Madeleine joined H&H in 2011 and became Features Editor — producing content across the magazine and website, including the popular inside back cover article ‘The horse that made me’ and the weekly ‘The best of my fun…’ interview. She has written on topics as diverse as hay making and headcams, to hot totty in the horse world and circus horses. Madeleine now works as a freelance feature writer for Country Life, The Telegraph, Horse & Hound, cntraveller.com, The Spectator and The Field, as well as writing obituaries for The Times.