An equine mother and daughter with an unbreakable bond who served the Royal Mews for a combined 26 years have reunited in retirement.
The two Windsor Greys; 23-year-old Cloud and 18-year-old Claudia, who worked as lead outriders for occasions including The Queen’s golden jubilee and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s 2011 wedding, met again at the Horse Trust last month.
The charity’s chief executive Jeanette Allen told H&H Cloud retired to the charity in September 2018, and Claudia in October this year.
“They look almost identical expect for Claudia has a pinker nose. They were frequently paired together for duty as they matched each other in looks and temperament, ” she said.
“They were both known to be very good at settling down the younger horses on patrol and they led the Kuwait state visit in 2011. Cloud was also used as a daily messenger carrier, delivering post between palaces in London.”
Jeanette said Cloud, who served at the Royal Mews for 10 years and bred further foals after completing her ceremonial duties in 2014, and Claudia, who served for 16 years, are in good health but retired owing to mild intermittent lameness issues. The mares have joined other former Royal Mews horses including Daniel and Marfa, with whom they served at the Cambridges’ wedding.
“They’ve all been reunited; it’s lovely that they come here to retire because they get to meet again. It really touches you when you see they recognise each other,” she said.
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“They did the same training and job, but they’re very individual; Daniel and Marfa especially have big characters, Claudia is quite a clingy horse and Cloud is a bit more independent.”
Jeannette said it took some time for Claudia to settle into retirement as she did not bond with some of the other resident mares at first.
“At first Claudia was pushed out by some of the mares, until we put her with Cloud. Because there is an age difference we didn’t want them bonding too much in case something ever happened to Cloud, but it became very clear they needed to be together. They have a very special bond, seeing them together is adorable,” she said.
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