‘I was always meant to meet him’: how retraining The Queen’s former racehorse changed a rider’s life

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Rider Louise Robson has shared how one of The Queen’s former racehorses changed her life.

Louise, founder of Thoroughbred Dressage, specialises in retraining racehorses for the dressage arena.

“My journey retraining for Her Majesty The Queen started when I was 15 years old. Then, I wasn’t retraining for her, I was a teenager, a girl, from the countryside who just so happened to have one of the biggest strokes of luck,” she said, in the above video by Great British Racing.

“I fell in love with ex-racehorses, primarily through my very first ex-racehorse that we had from Her Majesty The Queen, which was Mister Glum. He changed my world. He absolutely changed everything. He was there with me through my GCSEs, A-levels, university, and then after university we packed our bags and went off to Germany and trained with one of the best dressage riders in the world.”

She said that she came home and built Thoroughbred Dressage because of “Glum”.

“The stars aligned and I was always meant to meet Glum,” said Louise. “At the time I had lost all my confidence. I used to have panic attacks when I went near horses. Glum changed that for me and he made everything better and I wanted to ride. I’ve always wanted to ride, but I was afraid.”

Louise has had a number of Her Majesty’s horses. Quadrille, Forth Bridge and Prince’s Trust are among those in her charge who will form part of the parade at the Cazoo Derby at Epsom on Saturday (4 June).

“The connection I now have with Her Majesty The Queen is I don’t have her phone number, but she does ask after them and I send regular updates,” she said, adding that the horses’ happiness and soundness are Her Majesty’s top priorities as an owner.

“Whenever we see Her Majesty, she can tell me stories about all the horses here, all the horses we’ve had, from a foal all the way through their years.”

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