Football may be coming home, but the party has been brought to an abrupt halt for a historic landmark.

Fans draped red plastic ribbons across Westbury White Horse in Wiltshire, turning the 17th century figure into a giant, equine St George’s flag.

But English Heritage, which owns the site, took a dim view of the prank and instructed Westbury Town Council to remove the ribbon.

“The red cross that was added to the white horse has been removed this morning and this was at the request of English Heritage, who own the site,” said a spokesman for the council on social media yesterday (10 July).

England play Croatia in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup tonight (11 July). Kick-off is 7pm (BST).

This is the first semi-final the Three Lions have reached in 28 years, following a 2-0 victory over Sweden in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

If England win, the team will face France in the finals on Sunday (15 July) for the chance to bring football home for the first time since England hosted and won the tournament in 1966.

“We fully support the England football team and wish them the best tonight,” said an English Heritage spokesman.

“It’s great to see people coming up with ingenious ways to show their support but we do need to make sure that the Westbury White Horse is not damaged in the process.”

There is no suggestion that the landmark was damaged by the mischievous fans.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

Move over, Harry Kane, new England striker in town has four legs

Northumbria Police horse Peroni showcased his talent for football in the mounted section’s own “England v Panama” match

World Cup Wednesday: offering you one amazing dressage discount (thanks, football!)

To celebrate an exciting day for sport, we’ve got an offer you can’t miss

11 times horses have shown they believe #ItsComingHome

Even horses and ponies have been getting behind the England team in the football World Cup — could it be

Records dating back to 1742 suggest the horse was cut into the chalk hillside in the late 1600s, probably to commemorate the Battle of Ethandun in which Alfred the Great defeated the heathens, which is thought to have taken place at Bratton Camp in 878AD.

The horse originally had to be scoured frequently to keep him white — grubby greys are not confined to live equines, it seems.

But the horse was covered in white-painted concrete in 1950 to preserve it.

In this week’s Horse & Hound magazine, out on Thursday 12 July 2018, don’t miss our ‘Rider fitness’ special including what top riders eat, fitness for across the disciplines and more.

Plus, read our interview with Royal Ascot-winning trainer Eve Johnson Houghton and in this week’s ‘Vet clinic’ we take a look at bacterial meningitis in horses. We also have reports from eventing action at Barbury, racing from Sandown Park 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

Anyone who owns a grey horse knows all about the hours spent keeping it clean – and about chalking white socks. Imagine how much harder it would be if the horse was 360ft long.

Yet this is what an army of volunteers have been doing to the Uffington White Horse, a world-famous landmark on the Berkshire Downs.

To keep the White Horse looking snowy, the 3,000 year-old horse is re-chalked once or twice a year. Around 300 volunteers from the local community and from further afield come to help each time.

It consists of scouring the weeds (usually done in advance by the ranger team) then re-chalking using chalk from a nearby quarry. The volunteers pound the chunks of chalk into powder with mallets to form a new chalk crust within the outlines of the figure. If the work wasn’t done, the horse would become overgrown with weeds and disappear.

Over the centuries, the annual re-chalking of the White Horse became a well-known, large-scale public event until it was banned after the 1857 gathering when it attracted more than 30,000 visitors and travellers, many of whom were reluctant to move on.

Continued below…

Uffington white horse looks more like a dog, says former vet

A former vet has caused controversy by saying the famous white horse in Uffington could in fact be a dog.

Ancient White Horse acquires a jockey ahead of Cheltenham

An ancient white horse acquired an unexpected rider, courtesy of bookmakers Paddy Power

Wash for white horse ahead of Queen’s 90th

Around 20 volunteers worked for two days to freshen-up the Westbury White Horse

National Trust ranger Andy Foley said: “This is a great opportunity for people to provide real hands-on help in looking after our local heritage. It’s quite a spectacle even for those who aren’t actually pounding the chalk, so we love as many people as possible to come along and join the fun. We’re very grateful to the volunteers, as we’d never be able to get the work done without them.”

The White Horse is thought to date from the Iron Age (800BC-AD100) or the late Bronze Age (1,000-700 BC). It is by far the oldest of the white horse figures in Britain; many of the others are in Wiltshire, including the Westbury White Horse, the Cherhill White Horse and the Osmington White Horse.

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 oldest white horse in Wiltshire has had a bath ready for The Queen’s 90th birthday.

Owners of greys will know just how difficult they can be to keep clean, but few would require the intervention needed to brighten up the Westbury White Horse.

Around 20 volunteers — a mix of Westbury Rotarians, town councillors and local residents — spent two days steam-cleaning the 175ft landmark on 16-17 April.

“We believe that volunteers being allowed to assist in the maintenance of such a significant historic landmark is quite unusual, if not unique,” said project co-ordinator Steve Carrington, of Westbury Rotary Club.

“It was a herculean effort on the part of all the volunteers and we look forward to continuing with the maintenance programme over the summer.”

Although the structure was originally made from chalk when it was created around 400 years ago, the decision was made in the 1950s to coat it with painted concrete to prevent erosion.

Volunteers wearing safety harnesses used steam machines from Restorative Techniques in Bristol to wash away the dirt, algae and lichen from the surface.

Water was supplied by farmer Ted Callaway and the project was in conjunction with English Heritage, Natural England and Westbury Town Council.

When the team ran into “water issues”, Mr Callaway ferried water with his tractor all afternoon to ensure they had enough to finish the wash.

“Cleaning was only the first phase, we now need to do some maintenance on all the joints, replacing the flexible sealant, then decide on how we will treat the surface, whether that be more paint, a cement based treatment or a micro-crystaline wax,” added Col. Carrington.

The last time the structure was cleaned and repainted was in 2012 for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Related articles:

• 16 of The Queen’s favourite horses
• Foal surprises crowds by making very public arrival
• Road safety campaign could reach millions of drivers

Westbury Town Council’s Verity Bartlett said the horse is looking “amazing”.

“He had been looking rather grey, rather than white,” she told H&H.

She added the money for the project came from a mixture of sources, including the council and a trust fund from the former cement works.

The ball park figure for the entire restoration is £14,000.

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

An ancient white horse acquired an unexpected rider earlier this week courtesy of bookmakers Paddy Power.

Yesterday morning (Thursday 8 March) visitors to the 3,000-year-old Uffington White Horse were in for a shock, when they saw the horse was now complete with a jockey.

The stunt was organised by Paddy Power for publicity in the run-up to the Cheltenham Festival next week (13-16 March).

According to the firm, a team spent six hours “under the cover of darkness” installing the rider.

They used more than 200m of canvas, pre-cut into five separate pieces to create a 110ft tall and 200ft wide jockey.

It was pinned to the ground 5ft from the original chalk markings, using over 500 tiny tent pegs to ensure that the original site remained undisturbed.

However, the National Trust, which owns the site, was not amused and Paddy Power was rapidly ordered to remove the installation.

“Funnily enough the idea for our Uffington Rider came from a Tweet from one of our customers,” said a spokesman for Paddy Power.

“He was responding to our ‘We Hear You’ campaign asking if we had any mischief planned for Cheltenham in the wake of our giant Hollywood sign [which was installed on Cleeve Hill above the racecourse] a few years ago.

“We simply couldn’t resist the challenge and had to dig really deep to come up with something to literally measure up to the giant sign. I think we’ve achieved this.”

Paddy Power has offered a donation to the National Trust.

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 former vet has caused controversy by saying the famous white horse in Uffington could in fact be a dog.

According to Olaf Swarbrick, of West Sussex, the Uffington white horse in Oxfordshire is anatomically more canine than equine.

The Oxfordshire chalk figure, which is thought by the National Trust to be around 3,000 years old, measures 11m by 38.5m

Mr Swarbrick wrote a letter to the Veterinary Record stating that the shape is more canine.

“Anatomically it’s not a horse at all,” wrote Mr Swarbrick.

“It’s too long and too lean and it has a long tail — horses don’t have a tail the length of that stylised creature at Uffington. If I’m correct, it needs to have its [designation as a] horse removed — maybe [it should be renamed] the wolf hound of Uffington.

But Keith Blacksall from the National Trust disagreed: “What you have to remember it’s a stylised horse, almost like a stencil on the hillside, so it’s not a complete figure of a horse, it’s a suggestion.

“I would like to think it’s frozen in perpetual canter across the downs. Visibility wise you can’t see the entire figure, my theory is it’s meant to be revered by the living and by the gods and the ancestors — a view from above and below.”

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

Dorset council are set to restore the Osmington white horse after a botched repair by Anneka Rice and a group of scouts 20 years ago degraded the famous site.

The 323ft high horse, cut out of the Dorset limestone for George III in 1808, who was a regular visitor to near-by Weymouth, has faded at various times in its history as the limestone doesn’t stay white for long.

Sarah Hardige, South Dorset Ridgeway Heritage Project Officer, said: “The TV show Challenge Anneka covered the horse in small limestone scalpings which in time have darkened and washed down the slope changing the shape of the horse.”

Rodney Legg, a Dorset historian and author, described the repair as: “A bit of a do-it-yourself garden landscaping.”

The Challenge Anneka programme, hugely popular in the eighties, enlisted a group of local scouts to aid Anneka in her challenge to whiten the horse.

Ms Rice told the Telegraph: “We didn’t just turn up and start work on it. I can only think we were given the wrong advice at the time. I love the white horse, as I drive past it regularly. I will be the first to volunteer to help restore it.”

Ms Rice’s meteoric rise from being a secretary at the BBC to national celebrity was only matched by her rapid exit from the spotlight when the programme was axed in 1995, culminating in Madame Tussaud’s melting down her effigy.

Steve Wallis, senior archaeologist for Dorset County Council, who is leading the restoration work, said: “We want to restore the white horse in all its glory. To do that they have to remove the stone chips, before undertaking a geological survey to determine the original shape of the horse.”

It’s believed the horse was based on George III’s favourite grey charger. Restoration funding is coming from the lottery and Natural England.

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 to the south of England will soon be greeted by a 164ft white horse.

The horse, dubbed the “Angel of the South”, will cost £2m to construct and is part of the Ebbsfleet Landmark Project.

At 33 times the size of a real horse, the sculpture will be one of the biggest artworks in the UK, standing as high as the Statue of Liberty.

Designed by former Turner Prize winning artist Mark Wallinger, the horse was selected from a short list of three ideas this morning (10 February).

The next step is for the project organisers to seek planning permission from Gravesham Borough Council, which could take about a year.

Overlooking the A2 and Ebbsfleet International train station in Kent the horse will stand twice as tall as the Angel of the North — a sculpture by Antony Gormley that overlooks the A1 in Gateshead.

Mark Wallinger’s horse design fought off tough competition from Daniel Buren, Richard Deacon, Christopher Le Brun and Rachel Whiteread.

Mr Wallinger said: “This is a tremendously exciting project. There was some very tough competition and I am honoured that the horse has won through.

“I and the team very much look forward to working with Gravesham Borough Council as the planning process progresses.”

The Ebbsfleet Landmark Project commission was announced in May 2007. It’s aim was to attract an artist with an international reputation to create a largescale piece of art to stand in Springhead Park and provide a high profile marker for the Ebbsfleet Valley and the whole of North Kent.

Ebbsfleet Landmark Project expect over 60million people will see the sculpture each year.

To date, the Ebbsfleet Landmark Project has been funded by the Eurostar; Land Securities; and London & Continental Railways, collectively committing in excess of £1m. The selection panel was made up of representatives from these organisations as well as several specialist art advisors.

Victoria Pomery, director of the Turner Contemporary in Margate and chair of the Ebbsfleet Landmark Project selection panel, said: “Our decision was made on artistic merit and Mark’s outstanding response to the brief. I am confident it is the right one.

“Mark is a superb artist of world renown and his sculpture will become a real landmark for Ebbsfleet and the whole region.”

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 70-year-old Pewsey White Horse, carved into the Wiltshire countryside near the village of Everleigh, is to receive a facelift.

The horse was created by White Horse expert George Marples in 1937 and was cut out of the hillside by Pewsey fire brigade to celebrate the coronation of King George VI.

It is one of the most recent examples of its type, the oldest being the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire which has been dated to the Iron Age, over 2,500 years ago.

The Uffington White Horse is believed to have been an offering to the pagan sun god Belinos, who was associated with horses.

The Pewsey facelift is being paid for by equine worming manufacturer Eqvalan to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

For more information and pictures of Wiltshire’s white horses visit: www.wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk

Photo courtesy of www.wiltshirewhitehorses.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

One of Britain’s most famous and iconic white horses is threatened by plans for a new road, say countryside groups.

A £33million scheme by Wiltshire County Council (WCC) to create a bypass around Westbury to ease the town’s traffic problems has run into opposition from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

CPRE spokesman Laura Jansen said: “It is incredible that the county council wants to push forward this intrusive and damaging scheme.”

The planned bypass would take traffic on the A350 through countryside and the Wellhead valley at the foot of the Westbury White Horse.

Ms Jansen continued: “This is the oldest of Wiltshire’s 12 white horse chalk hill figures, and this road would have a major impact on the figure and its historic landscape.”

The plans were given the go-ahead by WCC in May 2007 but are subject to a public inquiry later this year.

The government-funded work could start at the beginning of 2009, with the road open by autumn 2010.

But the CPRE plans to object at the inquiry saying the bypass would scar the countryside around the stunning Westbury White Horse created 230 years ago on a site thought to have been carved out by Anglo-Saxons.

Instead, the CPRE is pushing the county council to build to the west of Westbury.

WCC describes the scheme as a massively important project that will transform the lives of people in Westbury.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (6 March, ’08)

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

Plans to carve a white horse in a protected area of downland near Folkestone, Kent, may be shelved after the European Commission began legal proceedings against the government.

The construction of the millennium landmark was due to begin next month, after the end of a battle between Shepway District Council, which wanted to mark a “gateway to Europe”, and English Nature, which argued that the downland area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

English Nature was also concerned that carving the horse would result in a loss of habitat and could pave the way for developers to build on other SSSIs.

Stephen Byers, then secretary of state for transport, local government and the regions, overruled English Nature and granted planning permission. However, the European Court action could lead to fines for the government of up to £14,000 for every day that it fails to restore the habitat to its original condition.

Local opinion is generally in favour of the project. Councillor Rory Love says: “We’ve had a public inquiry and we’ve gone through the proper channels. The people of Folkestone want this horse.”

Plans involve fixing chalk panels into the soil rather than carving into the underlying rock, to minimise erosion and to facilitate maintenance.

There are 17 white chalk horses in Britain, most of which were carved in the 17th and 18th centuries, although the Uffington horse in Oxfordshire is 3,500 years old. Edgehill in Warwickshire had a series of red horses until 100 years ago, carved into the local ironstone.

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 artist who is to carve a White Horse on a hillside in Kent says his work will capture the “spirit of the horse”

A new White Horse carved out of a hillside overlooking theChannel Tunnel is expected to help to “rebrand” the district and give it a distinct and new identity, says Shepway Council in Kent.

The project has been given the go-ahead by the Government despite opposition by environmental groups, English Nature and Friends of the Earth.

The artist behind the scheme, Charles Newington, says their fears that it will destroy spider orchids and disturb rare varieties of butterfly are unfounded.

“The spider orchids are half a mile away and when we did a mock-up of the work in 1999 [pictured above right], the butterflies seemed to like being exposed to the chalk surfaces,” he said.

Charles, who has had a number of exhibitions of ancient horse paintings throughout the world, put the idea to the council as a way of marking the Millennium celebrations.

“The horse is the most ancient of Britain’s symbols and was used on coins and battle flags by the Celts.

“I started painting ancient images of horses after I’d been to the Paleolithic caves in the Dordogne in France – they were wonderful fat horses and I wanted to explore the power and magic of the imagery.

“The idea for this new project was also inspired by the3000-year-old White Horse at Uffington in Oxfordshire.”

The image of the horse in Kent will measure 150ft high by 265ft and will be carved out of the hillside with a spade and trowel, taking eight people around a month.

“It’s not supposed to be an anatomically correct representation,” said Charles, “rather the spirit of the horse.”

The council is hoping the White Horse will be completed in June this year.

Read more usual equine news:

• Man beats horse in desert race
• Horse survives lightening strike
• Runaway racehorse goes AWOL

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 Westbury White Horse, one of the best-known monuments in the West of England, should be back to its glorious best this year.

The chalky Wiltshire landmark has become more of a grey nag over recent months but specialist cleaners are now being drafted in by English Heritage to put a gloss back on its coat.

Elspeth Henderson, spokesperson for English Heritage said: “Although originally the chalk wasconcreted over in the early part of the last century, it has been repaired on several occasions, most recently in 1993. However, the concrete hasdeteriorated and the horse is very discoloured and grey. It is an important local landmark and the locals are concerned by the appearance of the horseand we sympathise with them.

“It has been decided that when the horse has dried out in the summer time, as it is very saturated at the moment, it will be cleaned. The cleaning should be sufficient to restore it, but if not it will be painted.

“Those are short-term solutions. In the long-term we would like to discusswith other interested parties the long-term management of the horse.”

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