A prime selection

Cleveland Bay

THERE can be no better example of how well we are served by the horses and ponies of these isles than that given by the Royal Family. Later in the spring, around The Queen’s birthday, we are used to seeing pictures of Her Majesty in the papers riding one of her Fell ponies in Windsor Great Park – accompanied by headlines marvelling that our monarch still enjoys “a horse ride” in her nineties (not that this will come as a surprise to aficionados of Fell ponies, known for their steady temperaments, of which, more later).

In a publicity photo for Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2011, The Queen was photographed on her Fell pony, Carltonlima Emma, flanked by her two youngest grandchildren, Lady Louise Windsor and her brother Viscount Severn (on the lead-rein), on Welsh ponies.

These days, Lady Louise can be seen driving a team of Fells in the park – a passion she inherited from her late grandfather