‘A true gentleman’ of a horse who taught riders, modelled and met royals honoured with posthumous award
A horse who was “everyone’s favourite” and never put a foot wrong has been given a prestigious posthumous award – which was collected by his brother on his behalf.
Monarch, of Tower Farm Riding Stables in Scotland, died last year aged 27, and the British Horse Society (BHS) named him the worthy recipient of its Tarragon Trophy.
This goes to the equine personality of the year, and is presented to a horse or pony who has contributed to the community, overcome hardship or deemed to have a personality worthy of the honour.
BHS national manager for Scotland Helene Mauchlen presented the award last week, to Monarch’s full brother Duke on his behalf.
“The BHS is delighted to have honoured Monarch with our Tarragon Trophy,” Ms Mauchlen said.
“Monarch helped inspire The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, bringing calm and patience while teaching them to ride. Alongside this, he helped to bring back ceremonial horses to Scotland. Yet, he never lost sight of his day job as a riding school horse, inspiring many children to take their first steps in equestrianism.
“It is more than fitting that Monarch was the recipient for this award and we are so pleased to be able to commemorate such a remarkable horse, as well as celebrate his achievements.”
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Monarch moved to Tower Farm aged four and was “level-headed from the word go”, a spokesperson for the centre said.
“He loved his work, particularly jumping and was regularly the lead horse for staff riders taking groups out. He relished carrying both children and adults and had a natural instinct for looking after his precious cargo, including his youngest riders at eight years old, right up to his oldest rider; a 96-year-old lady who was resident in a local care home, who had been a rider all her life and wanted to have one last ride. Monarch carried her with careful confidence, and made this special wish come true.
“He absolutely loved being around children and was a regular entry into fancy dress classes at Tower Farm shows, quite content to be adorned with all sorts of creative outfits, having his tail plaited, glitter painted on his hooves and having kids clamber all over him, like a beloved wise old grandfather.”
Monarch also had his cheeky moments, the spokesperson said.
“He was an exceptionally clever horse and would often open up his stable at night and roam about the barn before putting himself back in his stable in the morning, in time for breakfast,” she said. “He knew his name and would answer back with his distinct whinny when called in his field and would often lead the way by himself, into his stable. When the farrier visited, all he had to do was call Monarch’s name and Monarch would whinny back, letting the farrier know where he was. He enjoyed the comforts of being tucked up with his jammies on in his stable during bad weather and couldn’t get enough of long summer days in his field overlooking Edinburgh.”
But as well as his day job, Monarch had a double life, taking part in parades, modelling for advertisements and taking part in royal visits, including meeting The late Queen on a visit to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the Princess Royal at the opening of the new BHS operations hub in Stirling. In 2023, he led the procession at The King’s coronation in Scotland on the Royal Mile.
“Monarch was unfazed by large crowds and pipe bands and he took his public performances in his stride, which included appearing at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo as guard of honour,” the spokesperson said. “He was a familiar face as the flag-bearing horse for the annual Edinburgh riding of the marches, he carried knights in full armour for historical reenactments, took part in Edinburgh Diwali, visited primary schools all over Edinburgh and the Lothians and even helped with a charity bag-packing event! He knew, from the moment he was given a bath and had been clipped, that duty called.
“Monarch always knew exactly what to do and always sensed the occasion. The moment he heard the bagpipes start up, he would stand to attention, ears pricked and wouldn’t move a muscle. He was the horse that the other horses would look to for reassurance; if Monarch was OK with it, the rest of the horses knew it was safe.”
Monarch’s “one true love” was Tower Farm manager Debbie Henderson.
“He understood you, was a true gentleman and was the horse of a lifetime,” she said, adding that the whole team was delighted he was awarded the Tarragon Trophy.
“Everyone who met Monarch knew he was a very special horse; he was always such a positive character and a gentle soul and gave so much confidence to riders of all ages,” she said. “At home he was everyone’s favourite and in public he would never put a foot wrong. His loss was so sudden and to have his brother Duke accept the award on his behalf was a very emotional moment.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.