The race known as the “amateurs’ Gold Cup” has been renamed after the Princess Royal, an “outstanding all-round equestrian”.

Cheltenham racecourse has announced that the hunters’ chase, which runs at the Festival immediately after the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, will now be The Princess Royal Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Steeple Chase.

The race is run over the same course as the Gold Cup on the last day of the Festival, which runs from Tuesday to Friday next week (10-13 March). It is not the first race at the meeting to be named in honour of a member of the royal family; the Queen Mother Champion Chase was renamed in 1980, the year of the Queen Mother’s 80th birthday.

The National Hunt Chase, on the opening day of the Festival, will no longer carry the Princess Royal’s name; it returns to being run as the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase.

The Princess Royal is a frequent visitor to Cheltenham; she opened the Princess Royal Stand at the racecourse in November 2015, and her daughter Zara Tindall has been a member of the racecourse committee since 2019.

Cheltenham chief executive Guy Lavender said: “The Hunters’ Chase at the Festival is a contest that recognises and celebrates the very origins of our great sport. We therefore feel it is very appropriate to stage it under the name of Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal – an outstanding all-round equestrian who has excelled in a wide range of disciplines.”

Princess Anne won individual European eventing gold with Doublet in 1971 and team and individual silver in 1975 with Goodwill, with whom she became the first member of the royal family to compete at the Olympics, a year later.

She also rode as an amateur jockey, winning on the Flat and over jumps.

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The Princess Royal will be among nearly 300 riders taking part in a centuries-old ride through Edinburgh this Sunday (14 September) as part of celebrations to mark the city’s 900th anniversary.

Princess Anne is to take part in the Edinburgh Riding of the Marches, which originated in the 16th century as a vital inspection of the city’s boundaries and has become a public event that attracts thousands of spectators as it “celebrates civic pride, heritage and horsemanship”.

The ride this year also features a “people’s procession”; 900 citizens representative of the city’s “rich heritage and vibrant present”.

“This event is a living connection to Edinburgh’s past,” said event spokesperson Sam Lockhart.

“It will be bringing together riders from across Scotland and beyond, uniting communities in celebration of tradition, resilience and the beauty of our city.”

“We are honoured that Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal will be joining the event on horseback, marking the culmination of the Edinburgh 900 celebrations. We look forward to sharing with Her Royal Highness the spirit, pride and community that has woven the historical and cultural tapestry of the Edinburgh Riding of the Marches.”

The event also marks the return of Randolph Murray to the city with the “blue blanket” standard, and the news of the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

The hundreds of riders, dressed in traditional uniform and coloured sashes representing the Scottish common riding towns, those known for the tradition of riding the boundaries, will be led by those selected as the 2025 Edinburgh captain and lass, Adam Geehan carrying the Edinburgh city banner and Kirsten Lees.

The riders and horses will start in the countryside surrounding the city, and finish, accompanied by pipe bands, on the Edinburgh Royal Mile. Spectators are welcomed to line the route; viewing points include Mortonhall Estate, Lasswade Road, Captain’s Road, Craigmillar Castle Park, Duddingston Village, Holyrood Park and the Royal Mile.

“The people’s procession is a living tribute to the people who have shaped Edinburgh across centuries” said Iain Whyte, chair of the Edinburgh Riding of the Marches. “If you’re in town, this will be a day to remember. We are delighted that Scottish broadcaster, actor and pantomime legend Grant Stott will be leading the procession and we will be welcoming groups from across Edinburgh, including schools, community organisations, charities, volunteers, music, dance, theatre and more.

“Expect to see everything from surgeons to sporting institutions, bus drivers to paramedics, school pupils to military veterans. What better way to celebrate Edinburgh’s 900th year as a city than to put our citizens at the forefront of the stage?”

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On her 65th birthday today (15 August 2015), we've dug into the archives to celebrate Princess Anne's status as equestrian

Happy 75th birthday to The Princess Royal – one of the most influential horsewomen in history

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Those with first-hand experience of riding and working alongside The Princess Royal share their memories – both personal and public – to celebrate this supreme horsewoman on her 75th birthday. Kate Johnson reports

As a pony-mad schoolgirl, The Princess Royal relished the rough-and-tumble childhood familiar to many H&H readers. She has since risen to become one of the most successful and influential horsewomen in history.

Privilege alone doesn’t win European eventing titles, and since her hard graft in the competitive sphere, Princess Anne has made an enduring impact on the equestrian world. Here’s a glimpse of her seven decades of devotion through the words of significant names across the horse world.

Mark Todd: double Olympic gold medallist, five-time Burghley and four-time Badminton winner

“Princess Anne was competing when I first came to England; I remember her on Goodwill and Stevie B as a highly accomplished horsewoman. It can’t have been easy. She had her other life while trying to be competitive in the equestrian world, which she did very successfully.

“I was a naive boy from New Zealand country, and everything looked so polished in England. Princess Anne was immaculately turned out, elegant on a horse, looked good going cross-country, and all eyes were on her.

“As a new kid on the block I was always interested in the top riders – Lucinda Green, Mark Phillips, Richard Meade – and she was definitely one of them. I’d only ever read about them and it was fascinating to see them in the flesh, warming up, the horses they rode, what they did.

“She has great balance, feel and a strong competitive spirit; you don’t win what she has without working and training hard. And she has a huge love and knowledge of horses.

“I can’t remember the first time I actually met her – I wasn’t exactly pushing myself to say, ‘Hi, nice test there Ma’am!’ Since I’ve got to know her, she’s always friendly, open with her observations, not at all precious, astute; she’s someone you can have good discussions with about horses, or anything, really.”

Dickie Waygood: technical director and eventing performance manager for British Equestrian

“As Gold Stick for the Blues and Royals, the Princess would ride in the big ceremonial parades. When I was riding master of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, hers was one of those positions you never needed to worry about; you knew when she got off the horse, it was going better than when she got on it.

“She was a consummate professional with a wicked sense of humour and an eye for detail; if she had a comment she wouldn’t hold back and it was always spot on and valued. In the military she really knew what she was talking about, especially when it came to the equines; she never suffered fools that’s for sure!

“The Princess would come and sit on the horse before the parades, and I used to ride out with her in the park. Like with The late Queen, our conversations were 99% around horses. It was a massive privilege to spend time with her and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Rupert Bell: sports broadcaster

“We gave the Princess Royal the British Equestrian Media Association lifetime achievement award last year; the fact that she accepted it was hugely important for our humble little organisation. She normally doesn’t want any fuss, but we’re so proud of her work behind the scenes promoting equestrian sport.

“I know she was extremely touched to receive it. She got the usual glass plate and when I gave it to her she was genuinely moved that her efforts had been recognised.

“We were able to do it in front of a capacity crowd at the London International. We put up a screen to show her highlights and she kept on talking, then suddenly announced, ‘I rode Desert Orchid once.’ I thought, where did that come from?!

“With her knowledge and commitment – she’s always properly briefed and knows her role – she has a brilliant ability to make whoever she’s talking to feel like the centre of the universe.

“We’re privileged that we have her working so assiduously behind the scenes and for us to be able to honour her on behalf of equestrian media is one of the best things I’ve ever been able to do in my career.”

Jeanette Allen: chief executive of The Horse Trust

“At the National Equine Forum a few years ago, I raised my hand to ask a question and was duly picked. I stood up and waited for a roving microphone. My timing must have been unfortunate as neither were anywhere near me and it was awkward waiting. So I said to the room, ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure you can all hear me without the mic,’ to which she replied, smiling from the audience, ‘I’m sure we will!’ Once the mic arrived, I was giggling and all I could say into it was, ‘Many thanks Ma’am!’”

Jack Berry: former jockey and trainer, co-founder and vice-president of the Injured Jockeys Fund

“Princess Anne does an awful lot for the Injured Jockeys Fund, she’s an absolutely wonderful lady. I’ve known her for over 60 years, well before she opened our first respite centre, Oaksey House at Lambourn, and later, Jack Berry House.

“I was very proud when she rode for us at Newmarket on O I Oyston [they finished fifth in the one-mile handicap in 1988]. He was renowned as a hard-puller. I told her to take him down to the start nice and steady, relax him, give him plenty of rein, don’t let him canter half speed, he’ll be away. She rode him beautifully.

“She presented me with my British Champions Series Hall of Fame medal at Ascot. I’m quite proud of that; the only two prior winners of my ‘special contributor’ category were Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Khalid bin Abdullah! That’s quite good, isn’t it?

“I remember sitting next to her at a dinner at Jack Berry House. We were having strawberries, which were not in season and hard as anything. I said, ‘We shouldn’t be having these, they’re like bullets,’ and she agreed. You could have a craic with her and I’m so pleased and honoured to have her as the Injured Jockeys Fund’s patron.”

Michael Bishop: chief executive of the RDA

“The Riding for the Disabled Association [RDA] was officially founded in 1969 and Princess Anne became patron in 1971. She’s been involved for more than five decades, as president from 1985, and her galvanising effect is vast.

“Our social understanding of disability has changed a lot over those decades and with it our participants. I’ve met few with such remarkable skills to understand the impact of a horse in so many different settings and speak to such a diverse range of people living with different challenges on an engaged, equal basis.

“She came to our National Championships last year and did the prize-giving. As quickly as I could read out the citations she’d engaged in conversation with the winners and made everyone feel unique and that their moment was special.

“Great horse people have innate relaxation around horses; her way with people wouldn’t be possible if she weren’t so at ease around them.

“On a recent visit to watch carriage driving, one of the local dignitaries asked a general open question to the group about the difference between horses and ponies. He got more than he bargained for from the Princess: a full explanation, including the types of miniature horses, and now he’s an expert!

“I can’t picture where the RDA would be without her.”

Roly Owers: chief executive of World Horse Welfare

“The Princess Royal has had a lifelong love of horses, which she has shown in so many different ways, including as president of World Horse Welfare. For several years she was a rehomer of one of our rescued ponies, who by sheer coincidence was called Annie.”

Ginny Elliot: winner of four Olympic eventing medals, world and three-time European champion, three-time Badminton and five-time Burghley winner

“I wasn’t privileged enough to ride on a team with her, though I always admired her riding and her outstanding results. I came a bit later on, and Lucinda Green, Mary Gordon-Watson and the Princess Royal were my icons; I watched them day after day.

“I competed with her at a couple of Burghleys and Badmintons. You could have a giggle with her, she was very much part of the group, and didn’t expect to be treated any other way.

“She was a diligent competitor. This sport teaches you to work hard and put up with disappointment. That was a good basis for any future part of her life and since then, no one has worked harder or been better informed in the royal family. She’s an extraordinary individual.

“As a rider she was gutsy and able to put things behind her quickly, which is half the battle; if you’ve made a muddle, you can’t delay. She was good at that; clocking it, learning and quickly moving forward.”

Sister Mary Joy Langdon: founder of Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre

“I’ve had a long association with the Princess and we competed as youngsters, though I never beat her. A few days before the British Horse Society [BHS] awards at Newbury last year, they let me know the Princess Royal had requested to present me with the President’s Award, which is quite special.

“After lunch, a woman tapped me on the shoulder and said the Princess Royal has offered to have a chat with you. We spoke about chickens – she wasn’t getting any eggs and I was getting one a day!

“When the Princess Royal came to the pony centre for our 35th anniversary, also last year, it was one of the best days of my life. It was pelting with rain. She said, ‘Step under my umbrella,’ which she carried. When she cut the cake, she told the volunteers, ‘You will eat it if I cut it otherwise it’s legal vandalism!’

“She’s genuine and kind, dedicated and devout, with a sincere love of horses and what they can do for people. I had a chat with one of her protection officers, who said if she’s at home she’ll muck out her own stables. I thought, ‘Yes, that’s what I’d do. We all do that as horse lovers.’”

Martin Clunes: actor and president of the BHS

“Right from the start Princess Anne took the role as vice patron of the British Horse Society [BHS] to heart and has given us and our members so much of her valuable time – she’s always great to talk to about anything equestrian.

“I remember one lunch where I was debating the wisdom of taking my two slightly knackered Clydesdales up to the World Clydesdale Show in Aberdeen and how long I would have to allow for the journey. The Princess said that she always drove her young horses up to Balmoral and I asked if she did it in one go, to which she replied, ‘Well we’d stop for petrol…’ No nonsense.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking equestrian news throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Queen Elizabeth II may have be the most famous, admired and garlanded person on the planet, but nothing brought out her widest smile quite like the simple pleasure she took in spending time with horses. Whether breeding elite thoroughbreds for the racetrack, visiting the ceremonial horses in the Royal Mews, or enjoying the range of breeds in which she was so invested, horses of all shapes and sizes was her passion.

During this time of quiet reflection, here is a selection of just some of the moments throughout The Queen’s special life with horses, in 25 pictures:

Birthday girl: Princess Elizabeth photographed with a pony in Windsor Great Park to mark her 13th birthday, on 21 April 1939

A family hack: The Queen (second from right) rides out with two of her children, Princess Anne (far left) and Prince Charles (foreground), in 1956

The two sisters: Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth with a pony and cart at Windsor in 1944, when the future Queen was 18

The future Queen, aged 20, cuts an elegant figure on one of her riding horses – she continued to ride for pleasure, and on ceremonial parade, throughout her lifetime

The Queen on her grey horse Surprise, followed by Lt-Col Dawnay leading members of her house party to the entrance of Ascot racecourse in 1961

Eight years later, in 1969, The Queen, Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones with a group of others on their way to the racecourse at Ascot. The Queen used to hold a house party at Windsor during the Royal meeting, and her guests would ride along the racecourse before racing began in the afternoon

Support on the sidelines: The Queen and Prince Philip chat before a polo match at Windsor in 1956, accompanied by Prince Charles and Princess Anne

The Queen leads in her filly Carrozza, ridden by Lester Piggott, after she won The Oaks in 1957, the year The Queen became champion owner

And again on the racecourse before Royal Ascot, in 1956. One year, The Queen narrowly avoided a serious accident when she was galloping along the track. The starting tape was down, and she skilfully ducked just at the last minute to avert disaster

May 1971: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on horseback in Windsor Great Park, stopping for a chat. Their son Prince Edward is on the right

The Queen holds her husband’s polo pony during a break in a match for which he is acting as one of the mounted umpires. The Queen was a big supporter of Prince Philip’s polo career, breeding polo ponies – including one which ended up as Princess Anne’s premier event horse, Doublet

The Queen aboard Burmese in the Trooping of the Colour parade. Burmese was a mare gifted to The Queen by the Canadian mounted police, and she went on to enjoy riding her in parades for 18 consecutive years until 1986. Many years later, The Queen was given a replica rocking horse of Burmese, whom she listed as one of her favourite horses

The Queen, Prince Charles, Prince Philip and Princess Anne with the children’s ponies. Princess Anne would go on to become European champion in eventing, while Charles played polo at a high level as well as riding in races as an amateur jockey

Princess Anne out for a hack with her mother The Queen on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, in 1979

The Queen enjoys a quiet moment out hacking out on the Balmoral estate in her signature headscarf, in 1982

From private ponies to major public moments, horses play their part: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip drive past Buckingham Palace in the state coach, during her Silver Jubilee, 1977

The Queen behind the camera: she enjoyed watching and capturing her horses in action as well as riding and being around them herself

A doting grandmother: The Queen with Prince William and Prince Harry watching a polo match in the Royal Box at Guards Polo Club, Smiths Lawn

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh set out from Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach for a ceremonial procession to St Paul’s Cathedral as part of the celebrations marking The Queen’s Golden Jubilee in June 2002

A slice of history: the moment The Queen won the Ascot Gold Cup with Estimate in 2013, the first time a reigning monarch had landed this prestigious race

The Queen showing her delight in watching her Highland pony Balmoral Gemini compete at Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2014

The Queen patting her Highland pony Balmoral Melody at Royal Windsor in 2007 in Windsor. Balmoral Melody was the overall in-hand champion and went on to produce this year’s supreme in-hand champion Balmoral Leia

The Queen paid a visit in 2011 to St John’s Wood Barracks (the final royal visit before the King’s Troop moved to Woolwich), to meet Harlequin, the horse she gave to the King’s Troop

The Queen riding out in Windsor Great Park. Since her 80s she chose to ride ponies over horses – “closer to the ground”, according to stud groom Terry Pendry. However, she continued riding well into her 90s

The Queen pictured at Windsor in 2022 with two of her favourites – Fell ponies Bybeck Katie and Bybeck Nightingale. This photo was released to mark The Queen’s 96th birthday

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The Princess Royal has opened a new national coaching academy for the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), which aims to increase the number of advanced coaches — and the number of people the charity can support.

RDA president Princess Anne officially launched the new initiative on Friday (5 November), at the RDA national training centre in Warwickshire.

“The Princess Royal Coaching Academy recognises the importance of high-performing coaches working with disabled riders,” an RDA spokesman said.

“The initiative will increase the number of coaches moving to advanced training, which in turn will increase the number of disabled people RDA can support, helping to tackle waiting lists and unmet demand for its services at groups all over the UK.”

The princess spoke to RDA volunteers, coaches and staff about the trailblazers of RDA coaching.

“It was that early understanding and example of standards that has made the organisation what it is,” she said. “And for those of you who have followed in those footsteps and developed in your own ways in your own groups and in your own areas, there is a huge amount we have learned.

“I hope you will agree that the coaching academy is an appropriate use of that experience – and will make all of that experience go a little bit further, to encourage more people to take their places in the RDA, and to make that change for each of those individuals that they come across.”

The academy is named after the Princess Royal, on the 50th anniversary of her becoming the RDA’s patron, in 1971. She became president in 1985.

RDA chief executive Ed Bracher said the charity was “enormously excited” about the launch of the academy.

“Our coaches lie at the heart of the RDA’s work and through the academy, we aim to nurture talent, innovation and excellence,” he said.

“This is a core part of our plan to dramatically increase the number of disabled people we can support by our 60th anniversary in 2029. We are delighted that the Princess Royal has agreed to lend her name to the academy, 50 years after she first became involved with RDA.”

Philanthropist John Studzinski CBE, said he was delighted to support the academy’s first two years.

“The academy will strengthen the RDA’s provision of training and support for its volunteers, coaches and mentors,” he said.

“Ultimately this will provide an even better experience for all the disabled children and adults the charity helps. I first got to know about the RDA over 10 years ago and was immediately struck by the value of its work. For me, above all else, RDA brings human dignity to people, which is a recurring theme across my philanthropic interests.”

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From rocking horses to Shetlands and sturdy Pony Club steeds, horses infiltrate every aspect of a royal childhood, whether the Olympics beckons or a trot around Balmoral is the extent of their riders’ equestrian prowess, finds Madeleine Silver

WHEN The Queen’s childhood governess Marion Crawford first met a young Princess Elizabeth, she found “a small figure with a mop of curls sat up in bed”, who had tied the cords of her dressing gown to the knobs of the bed and was busy driving her team.

‘‘Do you usually drive in bed?” Marion remembered asking, in her 1950 book The Little Princesses, to which the princess replied: “I mostly go once or twice round the park before I go to sleep. It exercises my horses.”

The 30-odd toy horses that she had, each standing a foot high on wheels, had a strict stable routine; their grooming basket stood at the end of a long line of them, first at No. 145 Piccadilly, and later in the corridors of Buckingham Palace. Each night they had their saddles removed, and were attentively fed and watered. And after her and Princess Margaret’s annual trip to Olympia Horse Show with their parents, the toy horses would be put through several weeks of intensive training. On other occasions Princess Elizabeth would harness her nanny with a pair of red reins to set off on a fictional delivery round.

“I would be patted, given my nosebag, and jerked to a standstill, while Lilibet delivered imaginary groceries, and held long and intimate conversations with her make-believe customers,” wrote Marion. “Sometimes she would whisper to me, ‘Crawfie, you must pretend to be impatient. Paw the ground a bit.’ So, I would paw.”

And at Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park, where weekends were spent, two life-sized rocking horses were put outside the then Duke of York’s study, so he could hear his daughters riding while he worked.

WHEN Princess Elizabeth’s grandfather King George V gave her the diminutive Shetland Peggy when she was four years old, it was her first real taste of life in the saddle – and a place for her to channel the attentiveness she’d shown her toys. A photo from the 2014 exhibition Royal Childhood at the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace shows her proudly leading her younger sister aboard Peggy, with the bowler-hat clad groom Mr Henry Owen, who taught her to ride, in attendance.

“[Princess Elizabeth] liked me to come and watch her [riding lessons with Mr Owen],” wrote Marion. “Her first canter was a great day. I used to walk with the dogs, and it was pretty to hear her bell-like voice through the trees talking to Owen about burs, galls and girths.”

For all the stereotyping of Shetlands being comically naughty, they have continued to be the royal family’s choice of breed for a child’s debut in the saddle. It was Queen Victoria’s fondness for the breed that helped raise their profile in the 19th century, according to Anne, Countess De La Warr, president of the Shetland Pony Stud Book Society.

“It made them popular with other Victorian mothers,” she says. “They’re particularly good as a first pony, but also as what I call a family pony; if you have a trap or a cart, you can all go on family picnics with them. I have one friend whose pony is said to know his way to the pub.”

Flora and Alma, two Shetlands who were presented to Queen Victoria by King Victor Emmanuel of Italy, proved particularly popular with her grandchildren, and it’s a trend that Anne continues to see today.

“Grandmothers can have them in the field and when a child comes to visit, you can hoik them out and put a saddle on. They’re amazingly easy,” she says.

If it weren’t for the grand surroundings, BBC footage from 1992 of The Queen with Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie riding Smokey at Balmoral could be any idyllic scene of a grandmother with her grandchildren.

As Anne explains, the best Shetlands tend to come via word of mouth and the royal family is no exception in following that ethos on the hunt for the perfect pony. Prince William learnt to ride on the pint-sized Smokey aged four; Llanerch Topaz, another that the future king was pictured on as a child taught the Princess Royal’s children to ride and it was reported that Zara Tindall provided a Shetland for Prince George to kick-start his riding.

WHILE these early rides are the grand sum of some royal family members’ foray into equestrianism, for others it is just the start. Aged two, Princess Anne was bundled aboard Fum, and although her memories of the Shetland are vague, the experience paved the way for a series of more memorable ponies that would lay the foundations for her Olympic eventing career.

Holidays as a child were spent at Sandringham, Windsor and Balmoral. Each offered a different terrain for Princess Anne to tackle on horseback, usually accompanied by her mother and older brother, and assisted by the groom, Frank Hatcher, who helped the children catch the ponies and brush them, and reminded them to pick out their feet.

“The miles of stubble fields around Sandringham were pure luxury by today’s standards of relatively restricted hacking,” she remembered in her 1991 equestrian autobiography Riding Through My Life, reminiscing about the “rides” which had been cleared for Queen Alexandra to be able to ride through the woods and all over the estate without getting her hat knocked off.

“The best ‘fun’ riding was at Balmoral: riverside paths, woodland paths, hill paths and the golf course. It was all right if you rode on the rough, but you were definitely not popular if you got ‘carted’ away with across the fairways.”

As for a young Princess Elizabeth, who won a driving class at the 1944 Royal Windsor Horse Show with her Norwegian pony Hans, Princess Anne’s initially modest competitive career started from Windsor, where most of her riding happened at weekends (although not on Sundays, which was the grooms’ day off).

She was a member of the Garth Hunt branch of the Pony Club – although she can count the number of rallies she went to on one hand.

“They were memorable for persuading me that gymkhana games were not my forte. The pony I had at the time was a 13.2hh called Bandit, who was charming and reliable in every way except that he refused to repeat himself. By that I mean that he would take part in one bending race, but tried very hard not to take part in the next,” Princess Anne wrote in her autobiography.

It was this same pony that knocked a young Prince Charles’s confidence when it came to jumping. On clearing one round the grey was known to “indulge in his well-known imitation of a horse rampant if asked to face up to round two,” remembered Princess Anne. Discovering hunting helped renew the Prince’s interest in jumping, and being introduced to polo by his father at the age of 13 was a world away from the tedious early lessons inflicted on him and his sister with Miss Sybil Smith at Holyport.

Princess Anne remembered: “Being put on a small, fat, white cob, on the end of a leading rein, one each side of a large, fat, white cob, ridden by Miss Smith, and being led, very sedately, around a cinder circle was not our idea of riding!”

Even with the abundant privilege, being royal couldn’t negate the calamities that accompany getting to grips with ponies. On holiday at Glamis Castle, the childhood home of the Queen Mother, a favourite expedition for Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret was to take the pony down to Glamis Station to watch the Aberdeen Fish Express go through.

“The pony was temperamental about trains, and the station master very kindly let us shut him up in the waiting room,” remembered governess Marion Crawford. “Unfortunately, one day when, as usual, we did this, the stationmaster had forgotten to warn us that he had put all his best chrysanthemums ready for the flower show in there. The pony ate the lot.”

A tumble came for Princess Anne when riding her bay 14.2hh Watersmeet High Jinks in from the field while leading another, and making an unplanned dismount on some hard cobbles. “Not for the first time he looked genuinely surprised at the antics of his erstwhile rider,” she wrote.

An earlier mount, Kirby Cane Greensleeves, left a lasting imprint on the Princess after the Welsh pony trod on her toe. “In that endearing way that ponies have, the more I shouted, the more I pushed and the more desperate I became, the harder she leaned,” she wrote.

And while the royal ponies might have nestled alongside horses reserved for pulling golden state carriages when they were stabled at Windsor Castle, it was often a refreshingly low-key existence. At Windsor, the ponies lived a distance from the Mews, so the children would take the tack down in the car, tack them up in the field and take them out from there.

“These were pretty rough, scruffy little objects,” remembered Princess Anne.

What was drummed into the children however by The Queen was that whatever went wrong, it was never the ponies’ fault. Along with Zara’s Pony Club grounding, this was a mantra that Princess Anne instilled in her own children, and one that seems likely to exist for the next generation.

“There is no doubt that the level of involvement required in equestrian sport teaches young people a great deal about life, especially that ‘life’ is not fair,” wrote Princess Anne. “Horses are no respecters of reputation or ego and certainly not of wealth, making them a challenge to everybody, whether looking after or riding them.”

This feature is also available to read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 10 June 2021

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The Princess Royal said she is delighted to be able to welcome grassroots eventers to her home, Gatcombe Park, for the final of a new unaffiliated eventing series.

The 2021 Cotswold Cup Championships will run at Gatcombe on 11 and 12 September, in what organisers describe as an “exciting, never seen before opportunity”. Each winner, of classes from 80 to 100cm, will take home a minimum of £1,000 in prize money.

This is the first unaffiliated event to be held at the home of the princess and Admiral Sir Tim Lawrence, where the Festival of British Eventing has run since 1984.

“I am delighted that there will be horse trials over this part of the estate again, and especially to support this enterprising new grassroots competition,” the princess said.

“I hope competitors will be inspired by the setting and that it will give them something fun and challenging to aim at as sport gets going again after lockdown.”

The Cotswold Cup is a new series for this year, comprising a number of “big occasion” events across the area, and a “thrilling and prestigious championship with big money prizes”.

The main championships run from 80 to 100cm, with an under-18s’ section in each class. The youth winners will be awarded training bursaries with top eventers Laura Collett, Harry Meade and Tom McEwen, who have all signed up to train the up-and-coming riders.

Riders will accrue points throughout the series to qualify for the finals.

A 70cm class has since been added, with a separate championships at Waverton House (2) in July.

Continues below…

The H&H interview: The Princess Royal

£10,000 prize pot on offer in new unaffiliated eventing series

“Unaffiliated eventing is about to become very exciting and we cannot wait to welcome you to the series”

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Dates and venues:

15-16 May: Waverton House, Sezincote, Gloucestershire

28-30 May: Oxstalls, Stroud, Gloucestershire

19-20 June: Great Tew, Banbury, Oxfordshire

3-4 July: Oxstalls, Stroud, Gloucestershire

17-18 July: Barbury Castle, Marlborough, Wiltshire

24-25 July: Waverton House, Sezincote, Gloucestershire

21-22 August: Crown Farm, Ascott-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire

11-12 September: Gatcombe Park championships

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

As the Princess Royal turns 70 this weekend, Madeleine Silver charts an equestrian career that threw eventing into the spotlight as she became the first member of the royal family to compete at an Olympic Games

“It was a fairy story ending,” read the 1971 Horse & Hound report of Princess Anne’s eventing victory at the European Championships at Burghley. “Of course, everyone knows now that the Princess Royal won the individual championship, but only those who were there can appreciate the extent of the popularity of her victory, or the tension that gripped the thronged arena during her jumping round on Sunday.”

The reporter WW Thomson’s gushing account of the 21-year-old’s performance aboard Doublet perhaps reflected a nation gripped by this sporting tale; a rapid rise to the top, a home-bred destined to be a polo pony and a mother who happened to be The Queen.

“This really was a fabulous event. The Queen and Prince Philip were there, the weather was right, the winners were right, and Princess Anne not only beat the best in Europe, but trounced them,” it read.

In the following decade, the Princess was on the podium at another European Championships with a different horse, at an Olympic Games and in the top 10 of the world’s biggest four-stars, silencing any sceptics who’d wondered if Burghley had been a chance feat.

“It was very new really, having a woman royal doing such a tough sport,” reflects her fellow competitor and former team-mate Lucinda Green. “Not long before, eventing was considered a man’s sport. She was more than up to the task of eventing, but she just had to deal with the press, which is never easy. In retrospect she did our sport a huge service.”

For someone barely out of teenage-hood when she reached the sport’s highest echelons, the Princess’ start in the saddle was refreshingly low-key, with ponies turned out rugless and ridden straight from muddy fields.

The setting was, of course, grander than most – Windsor, Sandringham and Balmoral served as sprawling riding schools, and early equestrian thrills came from riding in her grandmother’s carriage to watch Trooping the Colour on Horse Guards Parade. But there was also an unremarkable Shetland (Fum), a hefty Welsh pony who stood on her toe (Kirby Cane Greensleeves) and humiliating bending races on the 13.2hh Bandit.

By the time she was riding the 14.2hh Watersmeet High Jinks, who was stabled at the Moat House riding school in Kent during her last year of boarding school, there was no escaping her gilded status.

On one occasion, workmen spotted the Princess’s policeman leaning against the end of the school, before calling out “‘Oi! You!… Are you royalty or something? Why’s that man watching you?” she recalls in her 1991 autobiography Riding Through My Life.

“At the age of 16 or 17 you’re not terribly ready with an instant repartee to queries like that, so I replied, ‘Well, yes, I am.’”

Competition discipline and manners were instilled by the riding school’s owner Cherry Hatton-Hall, one of many who helped shape the Princess’s eventual prowess. Before the Princess and her older brother were competent enough to ride with The Queen, Her Majesty would impart knowledge from her bicycle as she rode alongside them. And then there was the groom Frank Hatcher at Windsor, who was a stickler for ensuring feet were picked out and tack was on correctly.

But it was perhaps Alison Oliver who was the vital piece in the puzzle that enabled Princess Anne to transition from a horse-mad schoolgirl to a sportswoman riding for Britain in just three years.

“I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time,” says Alison about her royal student. “We just clicked.”

‘She wanted to succeed’

When the Princess realised that a conventional career didn’t seem viable on leaving school, she was determined to channel her energy into doing something well – and the answer was equestrian sport.

As Mary Gordon-Watson, who was part of the British team at the 1971 Europeans, says: “She was obviously very determined and hard-working, like she is in everything that she does. She wanted to succeed, and she did, at the highest level.”

At first, the Princess was lured by the prospect of polo; riding her father’s ponies had given her a taste of the competitive spirit of horses. But it was the combination of being lent the crown equerry Lt Col Sir John Miller’s horse Purple Star, who sparked her interest in horse trials, and being sent to Alison Oliver’s stables at Warfield in Berkshire, that meant that an eventing career was set.

By the time she won gold at Burghley in 1971, she’d ridden at just two other-three-day events, but it was soon obvious that this was no flash in the pan.

“You couldn’t fail to be impressed when she achieved success all over again [at subsequent championships] with Goodwill, who was a totally different type of horse,” adds Mary.

“From Doublet, Princess Anne went to a veritable hurricane in Goodwill,” says Lucinda about the difference in the Princess’ two championship rides; the first who was bred as a polo pony was polite and willing, and the latter was a famously strong former showjumper.

“If Doublet had turned up later in my career, we would all have looked at him and said: ‘What’s that?’,” the Princess told Eventing magazine about the gelding who The Queen had bred out of an Argentine mare and on whom Prince Philip had played polo.

“It was only because he came along at such an early stage in my life and because he was home-bred that he got his chance to be an eventer at all.”

In contrast, she remembers Goodwill as “nearly everybody’s idea of the ideal type of event horse… with excellent conformation, strong, active paces and well-developed jumping muscles”.

The pay-off for this raw talent, however, was having to learn to adapt to the gelding’s strength. “Dressage was largely a case of containment,” she admitted.

A high profile

At the 1973 Europeans in Kiev, the Princess’ and Goodwill’s appearance came to an abrupt end when she fell at the second fence.

But out of the saddle there was also her own high profile to contend with; a bugging device was found in her hotel room telephone, and on one occasion she was accosted with outstretched arms by an over-friendly hotel maid.

“She might have mistaken me for somebody else, somebody more famous like Lucinda Prior-Palmer for instance, but then we shall never know,” quipped the princess.

At the Europeans in Luhmühlen two years later, she was subjected to press speculation that Goodwill’s good dressage score was the result of doping, when what they had in fact seen was Capt Mark Phillips giving the horse a sugar lump before the test.

This angst – combined with waking up on cross-country morning with a cold – didn’t detract from her performance. She clinched the individual and team silver medals, a triumph she looks back on with greater satisfaction than her gold four years earlier.

“By that stage, everything that could have gone wrong had done, and I’d started again,” she told Horse & Hound.

However, it was at the Montreal Olympics the following year that the Princess was given a stark reminder of the levelling nature of the sport.

With her parents and three brothers watching on, concussion after a fall on cross-country day meant that she was even stripped of the satisfaction of remembering finishing the course. But her upbringing had armed her with an enviable sense of perspective and the luxury of being able to see her sport as a hobby.

“I had other things to do that would not be affected by my performance, good or bad,” she reminisced in her autobiography.

The following year, her son Peter was born, and although she went on to finish sixth at Badminton in 1979, no more championships beckoned. For over a decade, however, whether photographed with a medal around her neck, or dusting herself off after hitting the turf, the media – and public – were captivated. Eventing had been dealt an ace card.

Zara Tindall on her mother’s life lessons

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. “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.

And when it came to following in her mother’s footsteps at championships, Princess Anne “was very laid-back,” says Zara. “She’d say: ‘You know your horse, so do what you know and don’t change anything.’”

“My mother loves every part of the equine sport. She has been able to do a lot of different things in her life, but with the utmost professionalism.”

Princess Anne’s eventing trainer: Alison Oliver

Princess Anne was still at school when she began visiting trainer and former eventer Alison Oliver’s Berkshire yard.

“In the school holidays she’d come over and have lessons on Purple Star, who had been sent to me to train by The Queen’s crown equerry Lt Col Sir John Miller. Gradually more horses came, including young horses of The Queen’s,” recalls Alison.

“Princess Anne was so keen, dedicated and down to earth. She had a sense of humour and mucked in. And she had a natural ability, balance and feel for working with different horses. In any competition, one is alert and concentrating, but Princess Anne could control [her nerves] which you have to do as a competitor.

“I had a young family when I was training her and although I had a nanny because I was working, the children were included and it was all very natural. Looking through old photos, there’s one of my son Philip who was six years old, following Mark Phillips’ footsteps as we were walking the course. And there are these wonderful pictures of Princess Anne pointing out to Philip that he’d got one trouser leg out of his boot and the other in.

“We just got on so well and she became a very good friend.”

Princess Anne’s eventing team-mate: Lucinda Green

“I admired her braveness enormously,” says Lucinda Green, who first rode on the silver medal-winning British team with Princess Anne at the 1975 Europeans.

“She had a horse that I wouldn’t have ridden. Goodwill did something I always hated which is split his front legs, which meant that he got the rail between his legs when he hit them. He was a very good horse and he very rarely made a mistake but he was incredibly strong and his go-to could be the front leg split if he was in trouble.”

The following year Lucinda and the Princess were on the Olympic team together in Montreal.

“I just had so much sympathy for what it was like to be in her position,” Lucinda says. “She was hounded [by the press] and had to deal with it. People tried to keep her away but it was an ever-present thing.”

In the fast lane

It is not just the eventing world that has profited from Princess Anne’s gallantry in the saddle. When she agreed to take part in a charity race in 1985 at Epsom over the Derby course, she never imagined it would be the first of almost 100 rides on the Flat and over fences.

It was the late National Hunt trainer David “the Duke” Nicholson and his wife Dinah who gave the Princess her early training as a jockey when she began riding out at their Gloucestershire yard. And when it was suggested that she might like to ride on the Flat, she was put in touch with former Newmarket trainer Gavin Pritchard-Gordon.

“She was brilliant with the staff,” remembers Gavin. “The first day she rode out, she wanted to know everybody’s name and I probably had 18 lads then. The next time, she knew half of their names already. She was very fit and obviously an extremely good horseman, but she realised she had a lot to learn about jockeyship. It was something she achieved very well; she was cool-headed, always in the right place, rode to instruction and was a good judge of pace.”

In 1986 the Princess had her first winner on the Flat, riding Gulfland, who was trained by Gavin.

“With the greatest respect to Redcar, it was probably one of the biggest crowds they’d ever had,” he laughs. “It was a big occasion that the Princess Royal was coming to ride there and my travelling head lad and I were very nervous – it was quite a responsibility to be putting a saddle on a horse to be ridden by the Princess Royal which I knew had a chance.”

Princess Anne’s eventing career: the big moments

1971: Fifth at Badminton and individual gold at the European Championships at Burghley on Doublet. Voted Sports Personality of the Year.

1973: Eighth at Badminton on Goodwill. Goes to the European Championships at Kiev with Goodwill but retires after a fall.

1974: Fourth at Badminton and competed as an individual at the World Championships with Goodwill at Burghley.

1975: Individual and team silver at the European Championships at Luhmühlen with Goodwill.

1976: Team member at Montreal Olympic Games with Goodwill.

1978: Seventh at Luhmühlen with Goodwill.

1979: Sixth at Badminton with Goodwill.

Ref Horse & Hound; 13 August 2020

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The Princess Royal’s former charger Elizabeth retires aged 24

The Horse Trust has welcomed the arrival of a royal “VIP” resident, who has retired to the charity aged 24.

Elizabeth, named after The Queen, retired from the Household Cavalry after 16 years in service.

A spokesman for the Horse Trust said the 16.2hh “VIP” mare had a very important job during her career acting as the Princess Royal’s charger.

“Elizabeth was ridden by the Princess Royal on special occasions such as The Queen’s Birthday Parade, in one of the princess’ military roles as Colonel in Chief of the Blues and Royals,” she said.

“Throughout her career Elizabeth has also taken part in state and ceremonial duties such as the royal wedding in 2011, The Queen’s diamond jubilee parade, the Major General’s inspections and the state openings of Parliament. It was said that being such a good looking horse, she was always admired by the public on parades.”

The spokesman added the “striking” mare was known for being kind and gentle and spent many years teaching new recruits, including those who had never been on a horse before.

“Elizabeth is a much-loved horse who will be greatly missed by all at the Household Cavalry, but a well-earned retirement calls and we are honoured to have her with us,” she said.

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“This lovely lady has settled in really well to her new life in the Chiltern Hills and long may that continue. She has already been reunited with a former riding master at the Household Cavalry, Mark Avison, our equine care director. He rode her on his last ever parade in the Army. Of course being lucky enough to have the Princess Royal as our patron means we are sure there will be a royal reunion not too far off.”

Chief executive of the Horse Trust Jeanette Allen told H&H the charity are thrilled to care for Elizabeth in her retirement.

“We can’t wait for our patron to be reunited with her, if she recognises her former charger through the new muddy woolly look,” said Jeanette. “Elizabeth has been on parade here helping us to celebrate our 125th anniversary – she’s become part of our family and we are in love with this gentle, stunning mare already.”

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The Princess Royal has met young people and rescue horses whose lives have been changed through a charity project.

British Horse Society (BHS) vice-patron Princess Anne visited Parbold Equestrian Centre, Wigan, on Thursday (23 January) to meet young people enrolled in the society’s Changing Lives through Horses (CLtH) scheme. As part of a new partnership with the RSPCA, Parbold is one of the first BHS centres to rehome three rescue horses, Slinky, Trooper, and Bungle, who will work with young people on the programme.

A BHS spokesman said the scheme is delivered by specially trained accredited coaches and aims to “reignite a desire to learn” in people aged between 10 and 24 who are at risk of not being in education, employment, or training.

“The scheme encourages them to reconnect with society while working alongside horses as the participants are often suited to an alternative education environment for a range of complex reasons,” he said.

“The two charities decided to come together as equine rehoming centres are becoming full and the number of horses subject to neglect is at an all-time high. By placing these horses into CLtH centres, they can be rehabilitated alongside the young people who are on the scheme.”

BHS director of fundraising Tracy Casstles said the society was delighted Princess Anne had been able to witness the “wonderful bond” developing between the young people and the rescue horses.

“Her Royal Highness has dedicated so much of her time to the equestrian industry and with Parbold being one of the first centres to launch the CLtH scheme in 2017, it feels extra special for all those involved,” she said.

Parbold proprietor Stephen Bennett said: “It is an honour and privilege to host Her Royal Highness. Our team works hard to rehabilitate rescue horses from the RSPCA who in turn teach the vulnerable children and adults to develop empathy and regulate emotional and physical behaviour.”

The spokesman added many of the young people on the programme had been referred by their schools, local authorities or the police.

“It is often their last opportunity to develop their skills in order to return to education and/or employment,” he said.

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“The difficult backgrounds experienced by many of the participants makes them particularly able to relate to the horses they are working with.”

Gareth Johnson, RSPCA equine welfare operations manager, said the programme was “undoubtedly” one of the best schemes he had been involved with in rehoming rescue horses.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for young people and horses to come together and interact. The RSPCA has more than 800 horses in our care at present; we hope that this collaboration will help to alleviate this problem.”

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In this exclusive Horse & Hound interview, the Princess Royal shares moving insight into her involvement with Riding for the Disabled, a charity for which she has been patron since she was just 19 years old.

She passionately relays the good she sees horses doing for people — not only those benefiting physically and emotionally from riding, but also those volunteers who report greater wellbeing as a result of their commitment to helping these riders.

Princess Anne also divulges that her opinions may not always have made her popular, but she has fought for this cause that is so close to her heart. She also talks on how, with her mother still riding at 93, she really has no excuse not to carry on herself....

Half a century ago, the Duchess of Norfolk approached the then 19-year-old Princess Royal about riding opportunities for people with disabilities. Previously there had been various separate groups, but 1969 marked the formation of the national Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) — and those behind the move wanted the Princess as their patron.

“I said, ‘I don’t know anything about disabled riders — but I do know a bit about horses, and I’m delighted,’” she says. “My father always recommended not taking on too much, but to pick something I might be able to contribute to, learn about it and keep things simple.”

And it could be said that the work of the RDA has remained simple as the charity celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

“In some ways, what we do hasn’t changed at all,” Princess Anne says. “The observation that being on the back of an animal, small or large, can make a huge difference to mental and maybe physical wellbeing is as true today as it was then.”

The Princess brings up Lis Hartel, the dressage rider who was Danish national champion twice in the early 1940s. She contracted polio at the age of 23 and was paralysed below the knees, but went on to win five more national titles — and two Olympic silver medals, long before the Paralympics.

“When the RDA started, apart from those original groups, individuals, some of whom had seen Lis win her medals, said: ‘Good lord, we can do that at home!’”

Princess Anne cites the “enormous” benefits to those early participants; giving a new perspective on life, and movement to those who could not move.

“Even just being able to look down at people rather than always looking up,” she adds. “You can only really ask the people who have been part of it about the difference it makes.”

Some benefits can be measured, she says; children who become able to walk, or sit unaided, those who are visibly “getting better”.

“It’s not a eureka moment, but bit by bit they become capable of doing something they couldn’t do before,” she explains. “Of course, scientists could say it might not have been to do with the riding because they might have been doing physiotherapy too — but most of the physiotherapists recognise the contribution.”

There are also the mental benefits of riding, carriage-driving and just being with horses — the “focus and link people get nowhere else”, the communication, teamwork and building relationships. This year, the RDA released its research into the “dual benefit” of volunteering; the fact that by enabling the RDA groups to run, and its clients to have access to horses, the volunteers also enjoy significant positive effects.

“It’s being part of a group, which you might not otherwise be,” the Princess explains. “A lot of people say, ‘I’d be no good at that because I don’t know anything about horses,’ but that’s irrelevant; you can teach that.”

A bold move

Princess Anne describes the RDA’s formation as a “bold move”, as there were far fewer opportunities for people with disabilities than there are today. The medical profession did not encourage such activities, not convinced the potential benefit outweighed the potential harm.

“There are so many opportunities now,” she muses. “Perhaps the RDA set that ball in motion and helped educate a lot of people.”

The Princess believes the real challenge in the RDA’s future is a “numbers game”, ensuring continuing access to enough volunteers and horses to cater for all those who want to access the service.

She adds that centres such as the Ian Stark Equestrian Centre in Scotland, where horses who do other jobs also take part in RDA sessions, show one way the problem could be combated.

“The horses do RDA sessions once a week and they know that’s what they’re doing because the handlers leave the headcollar on under the bridle; you can see the difference in how they behave.”

The Princess talks about the individuals who have created evolution in the RDA and the improvements in communication that allow riders who are both deaf and blind to participate fully. She also credits the training and support of volunteers that does not just tick boxes but ensures the individual rider — who is key to this — is supported. She speaks of her pride at seeing the British para riders rise to such stellar global heights.

She also touches on the way horses are used in therapy in other ways, such as in the prison service.

“For some time, we’ve tried to include offenders in the RDA [as volunteers],” she says. “I did get slightly grumpy when one lady bringing a group of offenders talked about assessing whether it was safe enough for them and I said: ‘It’s not for their benefit!’ That didn’t go down too well, but it does help both groups, and that’s the point.

“For so many young and senior offenders who have failed their families, they’re making a difference, which is something they didn’t think they could ever do.

“I think that’s true for many volunteers too; they really see they’re making a difference. It’s not only that without them the group wouldn’t exist — what it does for them is equally important.”

A life intertwined with horses

The Princess’ life has been intertwined with horses from birth. As she sits in a small room in St James’s Palace, cosy against the raw autumn day despite the cardboard on the ground floor telling of a recent flood, she is a stone’s throw from the Household Cavalry’s London base.

“Horses were always there,” she explains. “I started on ponies before I had a conscious memory. I’ve had more experience with horses than anything else, and if I was ever going to do something in the competitive world, that was it.”

Princess Anne says she at first assumed she might play polo, but that, having competed in a couple of Pony Club hunter trials and one-day events, “I was given a horse and sent to a trainer”, and her career path was assured.

Of her achievements in top-level eventing (see list, below), the Princess says her individual European gold medal-winning ride on Doublet at Burghley in 1971, at the age of 21, is not necessarily the highlight.

“I think perhaps it was almost too soon,” she explains, adding that she had only really started eventing competitively three years previously. “I was hugely more impressed with myself with the medals in 1975 because by that stage, everything that could have gone wrong had done, and I’d started again.

“Getting to the Olympics too — it was in bite-sized chunks. We had to get them past the trot-up, then through the cross-country — I don’t remember the cross-country at all!”

Princess Anne also raced, remembering coming third to a horse who later won at Cheltenham.

“I saw the horse in the paddock at Cheltenham and thought, ‘What’s that doing here?’ I was that close to him!” she laughs, adding that perhaps she should have raced more, as it “hugely improved my riding”.

“I rather regret that,” she says. “I didn’t hunt until after I’d started eventing either, which would have helped; the racing definitely did.”

With much recent talk of equestrian sport’s need to maintain its social licence to operate — essentially the ongoing acceptance of its practices by stakeholders and the public — the Princess says she believes the long relationship between horses and humans means “horses would be almost as lost without human contact as we would be”.

“Remember what that relationship is — and what would happen if it didn’t exist?” she says. “Some organisations seem to think we shouldn’t have any animals as part of our lives, and I don’t think that’s realistic, on the basis of that historical relationship.

“We all have a duty to be responsible for those animals, as we have for being better educated, and getting our message across. And when we see the advantages of that relationship to humans who are less capable, you’d have to be pretty unfeeling not to think that’s a genuine relationship that has every right to exist.”

Horse welfare

In terms of horse welfare, the Princess says each horse’s wants and needs are different and must be taken into account. She gives the example of The Queen’s horse Goodwill, her Olympic ride, who had to be competed from the field; and another of her horses, Columbus, who did not like being turned out.

But she believes that modern routes into horse ownership, without the grounding of a horsey family or knowledgeable riding school, are “probably the most dangerous”.

“I think being introduced to horses by those who understand them is the best way, but if you start from scratch, a child saying ‘I want a pony’ and the parents buying them one, it can be more difficult for them — much more.”

Another welfare issue is preventing disease, and the Princess urges owners to consider vaccination. She is hopeful a strangles jab will be on the market soon, and that it is used.

“It’s rather similar to how people have forgotten the impact of human disease,” she says. “I was in Hong Kong when they were working with the Chinese on a vaccination programme and they were losing hundreds of horses. In the western world, people didn’t lose horses to flu. That really brought it home; it does kill horses.”

The Princess has to leave at this point, as she has another engagement. She is in the heart of London, although her own heart may be in grassier, more open spaces.

And does she still ride herself? She laughs.

“Well my mother still rides, at the age of 93 — I don’t think there would be much excuse if I didn’t.”

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Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Pioneering work involving electric cars and the impact they have on horse and rider safety was showcased at an equestrian college in honour of a royal visit.

Princess Anne attended a road safety awareness event at Askham Bryan College, in Yorkshire, on 25 September, where demonstrations of the ongoing research were carried out.

The event was organised by the British Horse Society (BHS) and the college, and involved electric car demonstrations by Alfa Power. These involved electric cars approaching horses from behind while the animals’ reactions were observed.

The company has approached the BHS with a view to look into potential conflicts between electric cars and equestrians.

“The BHS aims to work closely with Alfa Power in the future to conduct scientific tests to examine the impact of electric vehicles in depth,” said a statement from the charity. “This work will help support the key safety messages promoted by the BHS, especially its Dead Slow campaign.”

Princess Anne was also introduced to college students and lecturers, who demonstrated training for the BHS’s “Ride Safe” award.

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“One of the BHS’s main charitable objectives is to promote and advance the education, training and safety of the public in all matters relating to the horse,” said BHS director of safety, Alan Hiscox. “As a BHS assessment and training centre, it was fantastic to be able to work with Askham Bryan College to demonstrate to HRH the Princess Royal the brilliant work the BHS and its partners are doing to protect and promote the safety of equestrians across the country.”

Tim Whitaker, acting chief executive and principal of Askham Bryan College, added students and staff were thrilled to meet and talk to Princess Anne.

“We were delighted to welcome the princess to see our college and this ground-breaking study into what is such an important part of road safety for both riders and drivers,” Dr Whitaker added.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

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Princess Anne stressed the importance of support and education at home and abroad when it comes to horse care as she opened a new visitor centre at World Horse Welfare’s Penny Farm.

The redeveloped centre at the charity’s rescue and rehoming facility in Lancashire has been expanded to cater for more people.

“This [event] does give us the opportunity to celebrate what has been achieved here and to understand how horses are still very much a working animal in many parts of the world,” said World Horse Welfare’s president, Princess Anne, at the opening.

“For World Horse Welfare that extended programme of education in farriery and saddlery and nutrition is so important to those who still rely on them for their livelihoods.

“Sometimes you say to people – ‘people still work with horses’ – and they don’t understand why that can be true. I’m sure that here it is made very obvious, particularly with the projects in Haiti which make such a difference to those who really do depend on their horses and donkeys for their livelihoods.”

The charity is appealing for donations to its “helping horse owning communities in Haiti” appeal. The UK government is matching donations pound for pound until 17 September.

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“The understanding we get from making sure that they are properly trained in their care also reminds us that there are people here who have lost part of that knowledge, and we need to be ready to support those who don’t manage here in the UK,” added Princess Anne.

“This visitor centre has always been important but now it can play an even bigger role to have more space to help the understanding, fundraising, education, training and seminars which are part of extending the knowledge that is gained through the staff working at Penny Farm.

“Their ability to change the life of those animals who come here in a really poor state – who may be unlikely to survive – to living a life which has real value not just in themselves, but to those who have them as rehomed horses or as an interest to those visiting here. This place will add a huge amount to what Penny Farm can achieve.

“They start as really hard stories, but they have the potential to have really good endings.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

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A police horse who was decorated for his “outstanding bravery” during the London riots has been retired with honour after a 20-year career.

Boris, a 24-year-old grey gelding, is to enjoy a happy and peaceful retirement with The Horse Trust after a career in which he was awarded the PDSA’s Order of Merit (the “animal OBE”) for his courage under fire in August 2011.

Bought by the Metropolitan Police as a four-year-old in October 1998, Boris passed his initial training with flying colours and was described by his trainer as “excellent from day one”.

His first posting was to Shoreditch police station in Hackney, where he soon became the horse to escort the others, as he was “always so good, and fearless”.

Boris’s conduct meant he was also quickly selected to form part of royal escorts.

“Several years were spent at Shoreditch until he was transferred to Kings Cross stables and issued to another office,” said a spokesman for The Horse Trust. “During his time there, he was involved in many public order incidents and policed many football matches across London, always brave and fearless and always he led from the front going into disorder situations. He maintained his brave attitude and helped instil this into the other horses.”

The 16.1hh gelding’s last stable was Bow, in the east end of London, where he was issued to PC Scoteriou, a new mounted branch member, who said he “gave me the confidence to do my job always without fear and was always the first horse into a situation leading the way forward for the other horses to follow.

“We made such a good team, I never thought I would become so attached to a horse but I did and I was so upset to see him go,” he added.

“He was one of the bravest, well-mannered horses I have ever met, except when he is on the soft [ground]; he is so strong he would take you for a ride and boy did he take you, he never wanted to stop!”

London riots

On 6 August 2011, 10 horses and officers were deployed to Seven Sisters police station, where buildings and vehicles were burning. Their job was to protect other officers from the unruly and “encroaching crowd”, which was armed with “firework-type rockets”.

“The horses were surrounded by burning buildings and falling debris, with missiles being launched at them and their officers,” said Boris’s award citation. “This was a situation far more extreme than any training could have prepared them for.

“The horses stood their ground, despite being struck on their chests, hindquarters and, on one occasion, the head. Their unwavering determination led to a visible retreat by the crowd, which enabled the foot-duty officers to do their job.”

The Horse Trust spokesman added: “Boris led the Met mounted section from the front that terrifying day and never once flinched, even when having missiles thrown at him or moving passed burning buildings towards dangerous crowds of rioters to protect foot officers in danger. When his saddle was removed for the very last time, it was a truly emotional moment for all.”

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Princess Anne unveils statue

Boris’s retirement was overseen by Princess Anne, who was at the Horse Trust to unveil a bronze entitled “Soldier and Horse”, to serve as the charity’s war memorial.

“HRH commented in her address that something that remains as true today as it was then, is how close the bond is between soldier and horse and in the Horse Trust’s modern context, also between police officer and horse or disabled rider or driver and pony.

“Horses are no longer required to serve on the battlefield yet our military working horses still proudly represent our country around the world on state ceremonial duties, along with the horses of The Royal Mews.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

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A newly expanded equine veterinary hospital and a sculpture by Kelpies creator Andy Scott have been unveiled by the Princess Royal.

Princess Anne opened the new veterinary building this week (1 May) at the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School.

She also met 2017 Grand National winner One For Arthur, who was undergoing a routine heart scan as part of a study into the hearts of elite horses.

The facilities include new diagnostic and surgical suites and a critical care unit with 24-hour video monitoring.

Princess Anne also revealed the 15ft horse’s head sculpture, titled Canter, which stands at the centre of the entrance hall. The sculpture represents working horses and weighs 1.5 tonnes.

Professor David Argyle, head of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, said the school is “delighted” Princess Anne attended.

“The opening of the new expanded equine hospital represents a major step change in how we treat horses,” he said.

“We are also delighted with Canter — an incredible piece of art and fitting for a veterinary school that was originally established to support the treatment of working horses.”

Mr Scott added: “I chose a heavy horse to reflect the original intent of the school, which was set up to help work horses in the early 19th century.

“I am delighted with how it fits into the environment, blending with the unique architectural features of the building and the stone plinth.”

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The new building has been named after the former principal Orlando Charnock Bradley and is also home to a gym and the Roslin Innovation Centre, which provides laboratory and office space for animal and veterinary science start-up companies.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Also inside this week’s edition, 75 years of Royal Windsor Horse Show magic, ‘big dreamer’ sets up eventing grand slam bid and investment sparks debate over grass versus surfaces.

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The Princess Royal appealed to riders to avoid hacking with their “ears full of music and mobile phones” as she spoke on road safety at this year’s National Equine Forum yesterday (8 March).

The forum’s president addressed all those at the 26th annual meeting, at which topics from rider weight to the Central Equine Database were also discussed.

“With the best will in the world, sometimes we do have to ride on the road,” she said. “And I’ve had my share of nearly having my foot taken off by a wing mirror, but it’s how riders respond to that.”

The princess said wearing high-vis gear, on humans and equines, is part of that response.

“But I don’t want drivers to think just because you’re not wearing it, you’re not there,” she added. “It’s not an excuse not to look.”

Princess Anne raised the point that road planning often takes cyclists into account, “including one are where they’ve created an entirely separate road, and very few cyclists use it”, but that elsewhere, such consideration is also given to pedestrians and riders.

“And rider awareness,” she added. “Please, riders, don’t go out with your ears full of music and mobile phones. If you can’t hear what’s going on, you’ll not only not hear a vehicle coming but also what sort of vehicle it is.”

The princess was speaking in relation to a talk given by the British Horse Society’s (BHS) safety director Alan Hiscox on influencing driver behaviour when passing horses on the road.

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Mr Hiscox told of the BHS’s Dead? Or Dead Slow? campaign’s successes since its launch in 2016, including working with companies on training lorry drivers and being asked to contribute guidelines for drivers in official DVSA literature.

“We’re working with all the right agencies and stakeholders, and have established some exceptional partnerships,” he said.

“Now I’m asking you to spread the Dead Slow message, with colleagues and friends.”

See next week’s Horse & Hound magazine, out 15 March, for a full report form the forum.

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The Princess Royal enjoyed a “rare treat” as she cut a cake to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a Riding for the Disabled (RDA) branch.

RDA president Princess Anne arrived by helicopter to meet young riders from the charity’s Exeter branch, which had recently celebrated its half-century, last Friday (14 July).

The princess was given a tour of Oaklands Riding School after which she and centre owners Joyce and Jacky Newbery watched a display given by nine riders, assisted by 20 RDA volunteers. She then presented each rider with a rosette to mark the occasion.

Having met RDA supporters including representatives of Plymtree Country Fayre and Horse Show, Powderham Castle, Exeter Southernhay Rotary Club and Oaklands Riding School, the princess cut the anniversary cake and unveiled a commemorative plaque.

“It is a rare treat for me to be able to celebrate 50 years as an RDA group because this is one of the oldest groups in the country,” she said.

Riders Sophie Case and Maddie Cavill presented the princess with flowers and a book about Devon.

“It was a great honour for us to have Princess Anne come and visit us,” said Exeter group chairman Bob Gaiger. “It was a really special day for everyone and a great way of thanking all our volunteers and supporters. Without them we would be unable to provide free and safe riding for disabled children in and around Exeter. We are looking forward to our next 50 years!”

Continued below…

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Joyce Newbery added that Oaklands Riding School is “proud to be supporters” of the group.

“Disabled riding is an important part of our equestrian world,” she added. “It was a great honour to have Princess Anne visit again in recognition of all the hard work and dedication that goes into enabling disabled children to ride.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

You don’t need to have backed The Queen’s horses to get a thrill from seeing her colours surge past the winning post first at Royal Ascot. Her Majesty, clad in her signature array of vibrant outfits is at the heart of this meeting, and we’ve dug into the archives to celebrate some of her most-loved winners. Don’t miss our full report from next week’s Royal Ascot in 29 June 2017 issue of Horse & Hound magazine

Princess Elizabeth arrives at Royal Ascot with her mother in 1951

Just a few weeks after her Coronation, The Queen's horse Choir Boy, ridden by Doug Smith, wins the Royal Hunt Cup

Her Majesty strokes the much-loved Aureole after winning the Hardwicke Stakes in 1954

The Queen's racehorse Alexander, ridden by Harry Carr, passes the royal box at Ascot, to win the Royal Hunt Cup in 1956

The Queen and Princess Margaret with The Queen's Restoration after winning the King Edwards VII Stakes

The Queen's Aiming High (left) with jockey Lester Piggott wins The Coronation Stakes in 1961

Cutting a dash: The Queen with Princess Anne, followed by The Queen Mother in 1970

The Queen with Princess Anne and The Queen Mother in 1970, awaiting the arrival of Magna Carta, after winning the Ascot Stakes

The Queen's horse Colour Sergeant leads the field in the Royal Hunt Cup in 1992

The Queen greets her horse Free Agent after it lands The Chesham Stakes in 2008, ending a drought of Royal Ascot winner that had extended back to 1999

The Queen congratulates her horse Estimate, after taking the Gold Cup on Ladies Day in 2013

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“Don’t ever apologise for horses” was Princess Anne’s take-home message to the equestrian world from the 2017 National Equine Forum.

While Sir Bobby Charlton might not be the first person who springs to mind when you think of horses, it was from the football legend that HRH The Princess Royal, NEF president, took inspiration.

The Princess told the forum that it was at an event for Manchester’s Olympic bid some years ago that he made the remark.

“He said ‘do not ever apologise for horses’. He then expanded on why — not just through [the enjoyment they gave] his daughter, but how the family got involved and how everybody had a role to play,” she said.

“I thought it was a really interesting comment from someone who said he never had any involvement in horses. He really understood.”

Her comments followed a presentation by Lynn Petersen, chief executive of the British Horse Society, on the charity’s Changing Lives Through Horses initiative.

The scheme aims to improve the lives of young people, aged between 14-16 years old, who are disengaged and at risk of becoming excluded from school.

Young people are given the chance to be around and work with horses to try and help them become engaged with society again.

The charity is working through secondary schools and youth organisations as well as the mental health campaign Heads Together on the project.

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The forum heard the story of 16-year-old Liam, who summed up the help from the scheme as: “you have not changed my live, you’ve saved my life”.

Princess Anne added: “It is their [the young people’s] contribution that makes a difference because horses cannot manage without us.

“For those youngsters to find somebody needs them is a real revelation. And if that is horses then that is fine.”

For a full report from the National Equine Forum, don’t miss next week’s issue of Horse & Hound, out Thursday 9 March

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The redevelopment of World Horse Welfare’s Glenda Spooner Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre is a “fantastic achievement”, according to the Princess Royal.

The charity’s president carried out the official opening of the development on 15 July, after which she was given a tour of the new facilities, with more than 160 other guests.

The final stage of the project includes an indoor arena, which will allow the charity to continue its rehabilitation work all year, and a visitor centre.

Princess Anne met staff and heard about “the journey from rescue to rehabilitation” made by horses who have come into the care of World Horse Welfare.

She said: “These new facilities are a fantastic achievement. I am hugely impressed by the planning, forethought, layout and understanding of what was needed, not just for the horses who receive care at Glenda Spooner Farm, but for the people who come here and visit too.

“It is this relationship between horses and humans that is the most important for the future success of World Horse Welfare’s work.

“Glenda Spooner Farm’s redevelopment is a long term investment, which has the scope to attract more interest from supporters, but to also do a lot more good.”

The Princess Royal also unveiled a double-sided sculpture of World Horse Welfare adoption horse May, made by Judy Boyt, which shows May’s emaciated condition on her arrival on one side, while the other shows her as she is now, in “full health”.

World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers said: “As so clearly articulated by our president, this is the end of one chapter and the start of a new one with such exciting potential for the future – thoughts which are very much echoed by everyone at World Horse Welfare.

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“It was very special to see the new facilities being so enjoyed by our guests on Friday and we cannot wait to welcome visitors.

“Rehoming is such a core focus, and when our president last visited Glenda Spooner Farm three years ago, her visit resulted in her rehoming Welsh pony Annie, who caught her eye while she was here.

“So whilst we do love visitors coming in to enjoy a cup of coffee here with us, we also hope many of them might also consider taking a horse or pony home with them too!”

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The Princess Royal, who some may know more familiarly as Princess Anne, has enjoyed an incredible career in the saddle, alongside her many duties as a member of the British Royal family.

Here we take a look back at Princess Anne’s equestrian legacy – from taking gold at the European Eventing Championships to her commitment to equestrian charities.

A young Princess Anne astride her Welsh pony Greensleeves at Windsor

Princess Anne and Doublet during the steeplechase phase of the European Eventing Championships at Burghley in 1971, where she went on to take gold

Princess Anne and Goodwill head through the lake at Badminton Horse Trials in 1973

Princess Anne and Cnoc Na Cuille in the Military Gold Cup race at Sandown in 1988

Princess Anne riding Desert Orchid at Windsor Horse Trials

Princess Anne during a visit to Ambury Park in Auckland, to attend a session of Riding for the Disabled

Princess Anne presents her daughter Zara Tindall with her eventing silver medal at London 2012

Princess Anne rehoming Annie through World Horse Welfare

Princess Anne at the prize giving for an RDA competition in 2015

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Last night, the Princess Royal received the Longines Ladies Award at an event at the Natural History Museum, which I was lucky enough to attend.

The Princess was in attendance, being honoured for being “a formidably talented horsewoman” who “deserves huge praise for her achievements and contributions in the equestrian world as both a competitor and administrator”, as Longines’ Juan-Carlos Capelli put it.

The night got off to a bad start — I left the office in a squall of rain and wind, dashing to the shuttle bus stop in a long dress and heels. I was pretty wet and feeling that I was displaying less than the required Longines elegance.

But it certainly improved from there with good food, drink and company. Here are my favourite eight things about the night.

1. The Princess Royal opened her speech by saying, “I owe horses a lot.” Who wouldn’t love that?

2. The fact we were dining with the dinosaurs. Honestly — that diplodocus was just a few metres away.

3. There were Longines branded chocolates.

4. The Princess Royal mentioned the Injured Jockeys Fund, H&H charity of the year.

5. The pudding was an “edible garden”. It was amazing — everything on the plate, from pebbles to flowers, could be eaten.

6. They played some wonderful archive eventing footage in the video tribute to the winner — wow, the sport and the fences were different in the 1970s.

7. The Princess Royal told the story of Lis Hartel, who couldn’t walk unaided after suffering polio, but won two Olympic silver medals in dressage. Yes, at the Olympics, not the Paralympics. “Horses give us that ability to level the playing field,” she said. “Through my work with the RDA [Riding for the Disabled Association] I’ve seen how, astonishingly, horses you couldn’t ride yourself adapt to people less able.”

8. She also mentioned the fact men and women compete on equal terms in horse sport — “Women have been respected for a long time for their ability on horses” — and said this should be a major selling point for our sport remaining in the Olympics.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Princess Anne may be The Queen‘s only daughter, but with three European Championship medals under her belt, the 1971 BBC Sports Personality of the Year title, an Olympics to her name (Montreal in 1976) and a stint as the president of the FEI (1986-1994), this horswoman is an icon of the equestrian world in her own right.

On her 65th birthday today (15 August 2015), we’ve dug into the archives to celebrate Princess Anne’s status as equestrian royalty — from her competition days to watching the next generation in action.

Princess Anne in pictures

1971

Princess Anne and Doublet on their way to an eventing European Championship individual gold medal at Burghley in 1971

1973

Princess Anne and Goodwill at the European Championships in Kiev 1973

1976

Princess Anne makes her Olympic debut in Montreal in 1976 with Goodwill, in front of an impressive crowd for the dressage. She was the first member of the British royal family to compete in an Olympics

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1981

Princess Anne and Stevie B at the 20th fence of the 1981 Burghley cross-country course

1981

Stevie B and Princess Anne take a tumble in the water at Burghley in 1981

1983

The Queen and Princess Anne in the royal procession at Ascot in June 1983

2010

In July 2010, Princess Anne presents Major Moylaw with his prize at the Great Yorkshire Show

2010

Princess Anne at the National Pony Society Championships in 2010

2011

The next generation: Princess Anne helps Zara Phillips officilally retire her European and world champion horse Toytown at Gatcombe in 2011

2011

2011 Burghley Horse Trials winner William Fox-Pitt receives his prize from Princess Anne, who won the title herself 40 years earlier on Doublet

2012

A proud moment: Princess Anne and her father Prince Philip watch Zara and High Kingdom in the dressage phase of the London 2012 Olympic Games in Greenwich Park

2012

Princess Anne presents Zara, and her team mates Nicola Wilson, Tina Cook, Mary King and William Fox-Pitt, with their silver medals at London 2012

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

A life-size memorial of a war horse was unveiled in Hampshire last week (Friday 3 July).

The sculpture was officially unveiled by Princess Anne in Romsey’s War Memorial Park.

In World War One the Remount Camp just outside of the town trained 120,000 horses and mules for life on the front, where many died.

After the war the camp was knocked down but the remaining hardcore was used to raise the ground level of the War Memorial Park in Romsey.

Local equestrian sculptor Amy Goodman was commissioned by a group of Hampshire residents to create a fitting tribute to commemorate the horses, as well as the soldiers who served at the site.

After four years of work the sculpture was finally unveiled last week.

“It was a very special day,” Amy told H&H. “A lot of people have worked very hard to make this happen.”

In 2011 Amy started research on the project, using sketches by Lionel Edwards for inspiration, as well as Munnings’ renditions of Major General Jack Seely and his famous horse, Warrior.

“All my career I’ve wanted to sculpt a life-size horse as a public memorial. It is such an honour to be involved in such a project as this.”

The 40-year-old sculptor wanted to show the “powerful bond” between horse and rider, despite the hardships of war.

“It is attracting many visitors,” added Amy. “They have been photographing the statue, stroking it and leaving flowers on the plinth. Romsey has taken the statue to its heart.”

The statue stands on a plinth that rests on a concrete base. Four horseshoes from the battlefields of Flanders are embedded in the concrete, together with some nail fragments, a Remount Service cap badge and two of the terracotta war horses made at King John’s House.

The entrance to the park has been completely re-designed to make a suitable setting for the new statue.

The project is costing £80,000 with public donations and auctions to fundraise it.

Amy Goodman’s Romsey War Horse maquette won the British Sporting Art Trust best sculpture award at the annual Society of Equestrian Artists “Horse in Art” exhibition in 2013.

For more information visit: www.romseywarhorse.co.uk

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The likelihood is that the new royal baby girl will have a fair amount of toys heading her way to celebrate her long awaited arrival. But if she’s anything like her polo-loving father, eventing legend great aunt or racing-mad great granny, our pick of horsey toys will be the only ones that she is actually interested in playing with.

And with so many of the world’s equine stars now immortalised as toys — most recently Valegro — there couldn’t be a better way to get the new baby familarised with the big names of our sport. The only problem will be keeping Prince George’s hands off his younger sister’s toys…

1. A Toytown rocking horse

What better way to give the new baby a subtle hint that eventing is in the blood than by splashing out on this rocking horse version of Zara Phillips‘ Toytown? Even his white spots have been faithfully reproduced.

Visit: www.rockinghorses.uk.net

2. A Mistral Hojris Breyer toy

This Breyer model of dressage sensation Laura Tomlinson‘s (née Bechtolsheimer) Olympic gold medallist Mistral Hojris will be a helpful reminder to the baby girl of Britain’s success at the London 2012 Olympic Games in years to come.

Visit: www.breyerhorses.com

Continued below…

9 rocking horses every child (and many adults) would love to own

If a pony is at the top of your child's wish list, but you aren't in a position to fulfill

3. A Denman jigsaw puzzle

This Denman puzzle from the Injured Jockeys Fund is one to be tucked away in the cupboard for the new baby to play with when she’s older. But it will be worth the wait when she can spend hours piecing together the National Hunt star.

Visit: shop.ijf.org.uk

4. A Frankel Breyer toy

Honour the unbeaten racehorse with a Breyer model. When the baby girl is old enough to know that the Sir Henry Cecil-trained Frankel won all 14 out of 14 starts, she will be glad to have this legend among her toys.

Visit: www.breyerhorses.com

5. A Black Caviar soft toy

Black Caviar in her soft toy format will make the perfect companion as the baby girl has sweet dreams about the superstar mare soaring past the finishing line.

Visit: www.blackcaviarshop.com.au

Diclaimer: Please note that these toys may not be suitable for new born babies.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

With a European eventing champion as a mother and an Olympic eventing gold medallist as a father, Zara Phillips is never going to be short of good advice. H&H caught up with the World Equestrian Games silver medallist to get her take on course-walking, hard graft and learning from your mistakes.

Zara Phillips on…

…hard graft

“My parents [Captain Mark Phillips and Princess Anne] were always very much about working hard,” says Zara. “When I started we only had one or two horses anyway, so it was always about making sure you do one horse or a few horses very well, rather than having a lot and doing them averagely.”

…course-walking

“I always walk the course with my Dad,” Zara tells H&H. “He’s very good at walking a great line, but also making sure that you have a plan B just in case something happens.”

… eventing legends

“[It was hard to be in awe of the older generation of eventers as a child] because I grew with my parents riding and I just went around the circuit [with them],” she says.

“But it’s funny to now be riding with Toddy after he’s come back to the sport. And when I started Pippa [Funnell] was at the top of the sport winning everything and no one could get past her. So it’s great to be riding with those guys now.”

…what makes a great rider

“Everyone is different,” Zara says. “If you went and looked in the top five riders’ yards now you’d see how everyone does everything so differently.

“It’s about getting the best out of your horse on the day and all of that is due to day-in-day-out training, learning about your horse and getting the best partnership you can.”

…getting expert advice

“If you look at the top football or rugby teams and the amount of people they have around them — they’ve got physios, doctors and nutritionists for example — it’s so professional.

“And we’re working with expensive animals as well, so you kind of have to go that way.

“You’re always trying to get ahead and get that last little bit of perfection or ability out of a horse.

“You want to try to make sure you get the most you can out of them.”

…making mistakes

“You see mistakes that younger riders are making when you’re on the circuit, but I think they’re all mistakes that you’ve made yourself,” says Zara. “Unfortunately the best way to learn is through mistakes.”

Zara Phillips is the in-game mentor and guide for the internationally successful equine game Howrse which is available as a free-to-play browser game for PC, Mac, iOS and Android mobile devices. Find out more at www.howrse.co.uk

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The Royal Agricultural University’s (RAU) new school of equine management and science was officially opened by Princess Anne earlier this month (15 September).

Princess Anne was one of the speakers at the conference on “education, research and the horse industry for the 21st century”, held to celebrate the new school.

The conference was chaired by commentator Mike Tucker and included presentations from FEI director of games, Tim Hadaway and lecturers on the RAU’s equine degree courses.

Dr Andrew Hemmings, principal lecturer in equine science spoke about the university’s ongoing behavioural and nutritional research.

“The new school will provide a clear identity for our research specialisms in nutrition, genetics, health and welfare and further enhance our applied equine research,” said an RAU spokesman.

The first dean of the new school is Dr Meriel Moore-Colyer. A registered animal scientist, she has worked with UK-based feed companies on product development.

More information here

Princess Anne spoke on the need for strong communication and collaboration between equine charities and the human development sector during the seventh International Colloquium on Working Equids last week (2-4 July).

The Princess — who is president of both World Horse Welfare and Save the Children — said it was “vital” the link between equid and human welfare was established.

“There is real scope for animal welfare organisations to work together with human development organisations if we can work out how to get across to the more sceptical audience the value of the working animal to communities in the long-term,” she said.

“The human development sector has a bit to learn about the importance of working animals and that they cannot be replaced instantly by some convenient mechanised way of doing business.”

Meanwhile Princess Haya (pictured top) president of the FEI, spoke of the link with horse sport.

“The ethos of horse sport is the horse is an athlete and deserves respect and care.

“Every workhorse deserves the same. It is a mistake to think that working equines are less valuable to their owners than expensive elite horses are to theirs.

“I have no doubt that this exchange of ideas will help save working equids from needless suffering.”

Read H&H’s full report from the International Colloquium on Working Equids in 10 July issue of the magazine or H&H VIP members can read online.

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The Princess Royal attended the Arundel Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) group’s 35^th birthday celebrations on 10 June.

Rosettes were given to all the riders, and the Princess then presented Ethan Rolfe, 11, with the Astor of Hever Trophy for his performance at the regional event at Hickstead.

Long service awards were also given to volunteers and two ponies, Shamus and Conker, who both have over 16 years of service.

Joy Leggett, founder of the Arundel Riding Centre said she became interested in the RDA after arranging collections for the charity during shows held at the centre.

The Arundel RDA group is run on Tuesday afternoons in term time.

Joy now runs the centre with her daughter Alison Leggett, an RDA instructor.

“Arundel Riding Centre has been established over 50 years and the RDA group is truly part of its history,” said Alison.

For more information visit www.arundelridingcentre.co.uk 

A life-sized bronze statue of Sefton, the Household Cavalry horse who survived the 1982 Hyde Park IRA bombing, was unveiled at Royal Veterinary College (RVC), last Wednesday (16 October).

Sefton suffered 34 wounds in the bombing — which required 8 of hours of surgery — but he recovered and returned to service. He was put to sleep in 1993 at the age of 30 due to complications caused by injuries suffered during the bombing.

The statue was created by Camilla Le May in a giant shed near her home in East Sussex. Camilla used photographs and talked to people who knew the horse in attempt to make the statue as lifelike as possible.

“It was fascinating to talk to those who rode and knew Sefton. This, along with studying old photos, enabled me to find out some of his individual traits, such as the way he often tilted his head, looking back over his shoulder, which I chose to represent in the work,” Camilla said.

“He was, by all accounts, a strong character and quite a handful, especially in his youth. Perhaps it was partly this strength of character that helped him pull through his appalling injuries.”

The bronze model was commissioned to honour one of the RVC’s longest-serving senior academics, Professor Peter Lees, who retired in 2010. It was funded by RVC honorary fellow Lord Ballyedmond.

The statue was due to be unveiled by Princess Anne, but she was unable to attend the ceremony as her helicopter could not take off due to poor weather so Lord Ballyedmond took her place.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The Britannia Beagles had a special guest at their puppy show at the Naval College, Dartmouth on 26 July — the Princess Royal.

“We invited her to our centenary puppy show two years ago, but she was unable to come,” said hunt secretary Commander Rory Jackson.

“This time she visited the newly refurbished Naval College Museum and then came to the kennels, where she named one of this year’s puppies Regent before attending the puppy show, presenting the prizes, and then came to tea afterwards.”

Commander Jackson said that when she left — by helicopter — kennelman Pat Franklin let the entire pack out while the helicopter hovered overhead. The 270 attendees of the puppy show could see her leaning out to look at the hounds.

“It was a glorious sunny day and she seemed to enjoy it very much, as did we,” said Commander Jackson.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire kicks off this Friday (2 August).

BBC weather promises it’s going to be fair (with the odd spot of rain), so pack a kagool, don some sensible shoes — the hilly cross-country course is not to be sniffed at — and make your way to HRH The Princess Royal’s home.

It fell foul to unprecedented rainfall last year but will be back in full swing this weekend (2-4 August), hosting the British championships for novice, intermediate and advanced (open) eventing.

And this year it has attained international status, with the open championship running as a CIC3* class.

You will be treated to a bumper line-up of top riders — including reigning open champion Andrew Nicholson, 2013 Badminton winner Jock Pagetand British senior European championship squad members Tina Cook, William Fox-Pitt andPippa Funnell.

If you can’t make it to Gatcombe to see the cross-country course (designed by Captain Mark Phillips) for yourself, you can download a free digital course map to your iPhone. It has photos, videos and expert audio commentary from eventing officials Jonathan Clissold and Philip Surl. The three-star course will be available on Friday from www.crosscountryapp.com

And if you have children, husbands, wives or friends who aren’t eventing mad, lure them with the prospect of the Shetland pony Grand National, scurry driving, dressage to music and trade stands selling jewellery to jumps.

While Zara Phillips may be taking a break from competing, bonus points for anyone who can spot the Olympic eventer — and her bump — in the grounds of her family home.

For more information, including ticket prices and a full timetable of events, visit www.gatcombe-horse.co.uk

Don’t miss our Gatcombe report in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale 8 August 2013

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Master saddler and bridlemaker Issi Russell has received an award from The Princess Royal for her contribution to the saddlery industry.

Issi was awarded a highly commended certificate at the City and Guilds of London Institute Awards at Buckingham Palace last month.

The certificate is presented to one of the nominees for the Prince Philip Medal, which recognises people who have “travelled the City & Guilds path” and excelled in their field.

“It was great to receive the certificate and wonderful to be able to go to Buckingham Palace for the ceremony,” said Cirencester-based Issi.

“I feel fortunate to be recognised for my work, which is a true passion and something that I enjoy everyday.”

Issi, 30, began her career as an apprentice in 2003 and her bridles are used by top riders including Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester and Zara Phillips.

World Horse Welfare’s president, The Princess Royal, was in Soweto on Monday to see the charity’s work in South Africa at first hand – and meet a visionary South African showjumper.

World Horse Welfare launched a training programme in Soweto in 2008 to provide local people with saddlery and farriery skills.

Common injuries to working horses were being caused by ill-fitting harness, carts bearing weight incorrectly and poor shoeing.

And many horses were being kept in dangerous surroundings.

To date the charity has trained 39 farriers and 35 saddlers and the Princess met the 10 saddlery and 12 farriery students who are currently being trained at the Soweto Equestrian Centre.

Princess Anne also met South Africa’s first black showjumper, Enos Mafokate, who runs the equestrian centre.

Enos make this showjumping debut in 1962 and competed at the Royal International Horse Show in 1980.

He founded the Soweto Equestrian Foundation in 2007, in partnership with Johannesburg City Council and World Horse Welfare.

The facilities are now used by more than 50 able-bodied and disabled children.

The Soweto Equestrian Foundation Vaulting Team won a number of classes at the South African Vaulting Championships, with one of the team members subsequently being selected to represent South Africa at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.

And Enos has himself completed World Horse Welfare’s farriery training course in Cape Town, where he gained professional shoeing skills and continues to work as a farrier.

Enos said: “When I heard that The Princess Royal was going to be visiting us in Soweto, it was like a complete blessing had been made not only to myself but to the Soweto Equestrian Centre.

“It has always been a childhood dream to meet a member of the Royal family and to think this will now happen as a result of having a life-long passion for horses will make the occasion even more rewarding.”

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

World Horse Welfare has declared July ‘Rehome a Horse Month’ to draw attention to the benefits the charity claims rehoming a horse has over buying.

The Princess Royal is due to launch the appeal at World Horse Welfare’s Hall Farm Centre in Norfolk today (30 June).

Chief executive Roly Owers said:“We hear growing complaints about the low quality of horses purchased at markets or over the web, while at the same time our rescue centres are bursting.”

World Horse Welfare says loan horses come vetted, with a passport, microchip and an honest assessment of their abilities.

Visit: www.worldhorsewelfare.org

This story was first published in Horse & Hound (30 June, 2011)

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The Princess Royal will officially open the new £3.5 million headquarters of the British Horse Society (BHS) today (22 February).

The landmark building at Abbey Park, Stoneleigh, replaces the previous temporary buildings.

The doughnut-shaped building completely surrounds a mature oak tree.

And its façade is constructed from natural stone: European oak cladding and sedum were used on the roof, to create a moist environment around the central tree.

There is also an ancient sweet chestnut adjacent to the main entrance that is reputed to be the second oldest in Warwickshire and, according to local legend, Robin Hood slept beneath it when passing through the area.

The BHS occupies nearly three quarters of the building and the rest is available to let by other equestrian societies and businesses.

BHS chief executive Graham Cory said: “We are honoured that HRH The Princess Royal — without doubt the UK’s foremost ambassador for equestrianism — agreed to open our new HQ.

“Attempting to compare our new home with the building it has replaced makes about as much sense as comparing the Parthenon with a local bus station.

“A bright, spacious and airy office now stands in the space once occupied by a building which was none of these.

“Previously, I had felt mean when I asked staff to work in such poor conditions and embarrassed when we welcomed visitors. Now we have a building of which the Society can be proud.”

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Princess Anne is to visit Doncaster racecourse next week for a special charity race day.

The Princess Royal will be attending the raceday, which will raise funds for Spinal Injuries Association and the Hospital Heartbeat Appeal, on Friday 22 October.

The Princess Royal officially reopened Doncaster racecourse in August 2007 prior to the first St Leger Festival following a £34m facelift of the venue.

As patron of the Spinal Injuries Association, Princess Anne will visit the parade ring before the first race at 2.15pm — the HRH The Princess Royal E.B.F Maiden Fillies’ Stakes — which is named in her honour. She will also present the trophy to the winning owner.

Mark Spincer, managing director of Doncaster Racecourse, said: “We are looking forward to an excellent day of racing and fundraising in the presence of the Princess Royal.”

The race day is the Hospital Heartbeat Appeal’s main fundraising event of the year. Last year the charity purchased an analyser for use in the Cardio Respiratory Department at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

For more information visit www.doncaster-racecourse.co.uk

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The Riding for the Disabled Association’s (RDA) National Championships (10-11 July) were bigger than ever this year, with more than 450 competitors, taking part in dressage, the countryside challenge, vaulting, horse care and knowledge, arts and crafts, best turned out and the musical ride.

This makes the event at Hartpury College bigger than the Paralympics and Para World Championships combined.

“It’s been a special year for the National Championships,” said championship chairman Doug Smith.

“We are delighted to have been visited by so many special guests, but it is always the individual achievements of our competitors that we remember most at the end of the day.

“And none of that could happen without the outstanding level of professionalism, the commitment of the volunteers and supporters, and the determination of groups who overcome many challenges to get here.”

Visitors included the charity’s president, the Princess Royal, and Paralympians Lee Pearson, Sophie Christianson and Ricky Balshaw, and BBC sports presenter Clare Balding.

The Princess presented the first ever President’s Awards for outstanding service.

She also received a cheque from Countrywide Stores for £55,000 and the company announced that the RDA has been chosen as Countrywide’s staff charity of the year again this year.

The RDA is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year

For more information about The National Championships and Riding for the Disabled Association, please visit www.rda.org.uk

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

I don’t like to be thought of as a name-dropper, but I hope those of you who were following our live written dressage coverage at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials today appreciate that I had to leave the Princess Royal to re-join you after lunch.

Don’t worry, I don’t generally rendez-vous with royalty. But this was at a World Horse Welfare lunch — Badminton’s official charity this year — where I was placed on a table with Jane Holderness-Roddam (lady-in-waiting and twice Badminton winner), among others.

Suddenly, just as the main course finished, the Princess stood up (we all leapt to our feet too) and asked Jane to swap places with her. The timing could scarcely have been worse from my point of view — it was 1.45pm and I had to leave at 1.55pm to re-start H&H Live. Gulp.

Anyway, I excused myself politely and HRH took it with what I’m sure is her customary grace.

It was a good lunch — I sat between Penny Thornton (former World Horse Welfare trustee and Polly Lochore, who rode at four-star as Polly Hely-Hutchinson) and Jane H-R told us a funny story about the time she won on Warrior in 1978, when a whole grandstand took off due to the wind.

Badminton final scores

Jane has a particular interest at this year’s Badminton as she and her husband Tim own Alexander Peternell’s ride Tiger’s Eye II, who did his dressage today. The grey looked fitter than I’ve ever seen him before, and all credit to Alexander who is riding despite a nasty fall a few weeks ago which left him with damaged ligaments in his knee.

Sitting alongside H&H dressage editor Sarah Jenkins doing our live written dressage commentary today has been a laugh — much more relaxed than last year when I pretty much had smoke coming out of my ears trying to keep the coverage updated on my own.

The horse who impressed me — other than the leaders — was Daisy Berkeley’s Spring Along, 10th on 48pen. It’s the first time he’s broken the 50-barrier at four-star level since Badminton 2006, as since then he’s tended to get tense and naughty. Today, he held his composure well. Daisy was riding him in a double bridle, which seemed to be successful for her at some events last year and obviously still continues to work its magic.

Tomorrow, I can’t wait to see H&H columnist Tina Cook take to the big stage with Miners Frolic (at 2pm) and I’m also looking forward to seeing Sarah Bullimore’s exciting 11-year-old Salerno (11.26am). Join us at 9.15am for more live updates.

First day’s dressage report.

Don’t miss H&H’s 15-page special report in the issue dated 6 May, including day-by-day analysis, comments from Carl Hester and Mark Phillips and much more.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The Pony Club’s new offices at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire are being officially opened today (17 November) by the Princess Royal.

Staff moved into the new offices early this year, which marks the Pony Club’s 80th anniversary.

This will be the Princess’ last visit to Pony Club HQ as president she comes to the end of her six-year term at the end of 2009.

Pony Club chief executive Judy Edwards said: “During her term as president we have moved forward as an organisation and her last visit will see her leaving us in good stead for the future.”

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The Princess Royal has praised World Horse Welfare for its work in highlighting the suffering of horses in the UK and abroad.

But she has added that responsible owners must not stand by and ignore the issue.

The Princess was attending the charity’s annual conference in London today (12 November). One of the subjects was World Horse Welfare’s Make a Noise campaign to stop the long-distance transport of horses to slaughter.

In her president’s address she said: “Looking at the footage of the horses which are travelled long distances across Europe, I think many responsible owners cannot quite believe that such abuse takes place every day.

“I am struck by the number of abattoirs these horses must pass on their journeys [from Romania to Italy] and the number of opportunities which could have been taken to end their suffering.

“But we are not squeaky clean in this country and I was also struck by the low number of abattoirs in the UK.”

She also touched on the problem of equine obesity, highlighted this week by a survey conducted by World Horse Welfare that showed an alarmingly small number of people recognise an overweight horse and the health implications it can have for its wellbeing.

World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers said: “Most of the cases our 16 field officers see are not caused by cruel intentions, rather ignorance.

“But owners and keeper have to act to avert horrific suffering [from obesity] in the future.”

He said the charity was changing its emphasis from being reactive to become more proactive.

“We must remember that our research into vaccinations and cures for illnesses does not negate the need for basic knowledge,” added the Princess.

Visit the Make a Noise and Right Weight campaigns on the World Horse Welfare website, www.worldhorsewelfare.org.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Visitors attending training sessions at the Animal Health Trust (AHT) in Newmarket can do so in comfort and style with the opening of a state-of-the-art lecture theatre and conference centre.

The Princess Royal visited the John MacDougall visitors’ centre at the AHT yesterday (10 November) to officially open the £250,000 building (picture right).

AHT assistant chief executive Mark Vaudin, said: “Until now we have not had the facilities to properly provide a fully integrated education programme.

“This new lecture theatre allows us not only to enhance the education programme for our own staff but gives us the opportunity to provide training and education for vets and scientists working in the UK and across the world.”

The converted stable block houses a 60-seat, tiered lecture theatre, equipped with a wall-mounted flat screen and audio-visual system, areas for smaller groups, a coffee shop and a large courtyard.

Each year the AHT hosts more than 20 continuous professional development lectures and practical sessions for veterinary professionals. It also runs genetics courses for dog breeders.

The lecture theatre and conference facility are also available to businesses and individuals to hire.

Contact the AHT on tel: 01638 555648 or email conference.manager@aht.org.uk

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The Princess Royal, the president of the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), will be the guest of honour at the association’s 40th anniversary celebrations next month.

More than 25,000 adults and children benefit from the RDA’s provisions for riding and carriage driving.

The Princess will cut a commemorative ribbon and cake at Chigwell Riding Trust in London to launch RDA’s The World’s Biggest Riding Lesson on 30 September.

The event aims to unite riders across the world as they participate in a set riding lesson on the same day.

She will also draw the anniversary raffle and present awards and rosettes to RDA volunteers and riders.

RDA chief executive, Ed Bracher said: “Her Royal Highness has inspired and encouraged thousands of RDA volunteers and riders who have met her.

“This is a great year for the RDA and we are delighted that the Princess is joining in the celebrations.”

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Both the Duke of Edinburgh and his daughter Princess Anne took the salute at ‘Beating Retreat’ a floodlit military spectacular at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall, London this week (3-4 June).

The Duke on Wednesday (3 June) and Princess on the following night, saw over 400 soldiers and musicians perform popular melodies and famous military marches.

The Mounted Bands of the Household Cavalry, the Massed Bands of the Foot Guards and Guns of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and special guests the Norwegian King’s Guard Band all performed at the event.

The term “beating the retreat” comes from the early days of organised warfare when the day’s fighting was ended and “beating ye retreate” was the signal to end the fighting, return to camp and post sentries for the night.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now