All the Queen’s horses: Why Mountie steeds will play a key role at today’s funeral

Thestar.com
Sept. 19, 2022

Four Canadians will be at the helm when Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is led from her state funeral at Westminster Abbey in a two-kilometre procession past Buckingham Palace on Monday.

They are members of the RCMP Musical Ride, a troop of police officers from across the country that performs drills on horseback accompanied by music. Their participation will bring to a close a relationship with the Queen that has spanned decades.

Her first encounter with the RCMP’s horses was likely during the coronation of her father, King George VI, in 1937. An 11-year-old Elizabeth and her family paid a visit to the Royal Mews, the Royal Family’s stables at Buckingham Palace, where the RCMP’s men and horses were stationed.

In 1951, then-Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, saw a performance of the Musical Ride in Regina. They then sent 46 men and 46 horses to perform at her coronation in 1953.

Over the course of her 70-year reign, the Musical Ride gave Queen Elizabeth eight of their horses as gifts. The first horse given to her was Burmese, a pure black filly born at the RCMP’s breeding farm in Fort Walsh, Sask., in 1969.

For 18 consecutive years, from 1969 to 1986, the Queen rode Burmese during Trooping the Colour, a ceremony held every June to celebrate her “official birthday.” (Her true birthday was in April, but the weather in June was considered to be more dependable.)

The Queen never rode another horse during Trooping the Colour after Burmese retired.

On Monday, four of the Queen’s most recent Canadian acquisitions will lead her coffin alongside workers of Britain’s National Health Service. They are George, ridden by Const. Katy Loisel; Elizabeth, ridden by Cpl. Justine Rogawski; Sir John, ridden by Supt. Kevin Fahey; and Darby, ridden by Sgt.-Maj. Scott Williamson.

“I can’t obviously speak for Her Majesty but she certainly did take a special liking to the Mounties and we, of course, take a very special liking to the Queen,” said Williamson. “We swore allegiance to Her Majesty the day we graduated from the RCMP Academy and I know every member of the force takes that oath very seriously.

“Obviously, (participating in this event is) incredibly humbling … for us as members of the force to be here, representing the organization, representing every Canadian that we know would also love to be here for this historic moment.

“We’re in what we would call a ‘no-fail mission’ … to represent the force and (the) great people of this country.”

They officers have already rehearsed the procession, both on the streets of London and on the grounds of Windsor Castle, said Fahey. The London rehearsal took place in the early morning, around 3 a.m.

That session allowed them to practise with the other groups marching in the procession, including the ones on foot who would set the slow pace of the ceremony, said Fahey. The RCMP officers and their horses have been practising almost every day.

George, Sir John and Darby were trained by and performed with the Musical Ride before being gifted, which should prepare them for Monday’s excitement, said Williamson.

“They underwent our regular training process … becoming very desensitized to multiple different environments,” including clapping and spectators throwing flowers.

“Their combined experience and exposure is quite impressive, which should set the stage for an impressive event,” added Fahey.

Elizabeth, the horse, was not named after Queen Elizabeth II but after her mother, the Queen Mother. Elizabeth was younger than the other horses when she was given to the Queen; she was a gift for her Diamond Jubilee marking 60 years on the throne.

However, Elizabeth is still “a very well-tempered mare,” said Williamson. “(She underwent) a lot of training more specific to what (her) roles and responsibilities are here in the United Kingdom, which … is more typically slow processional parades with millions of people, so (she’s) quite desensitized to the environment.”

Elizabeth, the horse, also foaled two fillies, Victoria and Venus, and Queen Elizabeth presented the Musical Ride with the two-year-old Victoria in 2018. It was her second gift to the Musical Ride, after a horse given in 2002, the year of her Golden Jubilee representing 50 years on the throne. That horse was named Golden Jubilee.

The Musical Ride was unable to divulge much about the procession on Monday, beyond that they would be wearing their ceremonial dress of a red serge tunic and a Stetson hat. Williamson stressed that “there’s no room for error.”

Although these horses were gifts to the Queen, it is her children who are more often to be found astride them: Charles rides George during Trooping the Colour, while Princess Anne, who competed in the equestrian event at the 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal, rides Sir John.

This is one reason that Williamson expects the RCMP’s relationship with the royal household to continue under the reign of King Charles III.

“This past May, (the then) Prince Charles came to Canada and he visited the Musical Ride stables in Ottawa,” said Williamson.

“He went through the stables, inspecting the riders and the horses. He took the time to meet and speak with every single employee of the Musical Ride … and then took the time to go down and watch a performance of the Musical Ride.

“I’d like to think that that’s a relationship that will continue and we very much hope it will continue.”

The four officers were accompanied to London by Cpl. Kevin Quilley.