The Queen’s favourite horse was Canadian. Here’s why the ‘special’ bond endures – National

After two years of not touring because COVID-19 pandemic, the return of RCMP Musical Ride coincides with Platinum Jubilee of a king whose members share a “very special” relationship, said the force’s equestrian master.

It is a relationship that dates back to 1969, when the RCMP presented Queen Elizabeth II with the jet-black horse that would become her favorite – Burmese.

Although the Queen joined the Platinum Year parade from her balcony this year after suffering recent health problems, for many years she has led the Horse Guards Parade in the grounds. Parade of Colors from atop a sturdy mare presented to her by the Canadian police force.

“I would also say that it is a very personal thing and we immediately had a relationship and understanding that revolved around the horses,” said Lt Col. Scott Williamson, RCMP’s equestrian master.

“It makes our relationship with His Majesty a little more special, a little more personal.”

The Queen was even riding a Burmese horse when a man fired six shots – all blanks – at her during a parade in 1981.

Follow to the BBC’s historical archiveMarcus Sarjeant, 17, initially intended to use a real gun but when he was unable to obtain one, he played what Chief Justice Lord Geoffrey Lane described at the time as “a real gun”. fictional assassination”.

The sergeant fired six rounds at the Queen while she was walking down the Mall on June 13, 1981, during the War of Colors. The Burmese were startled at the noise, but the Queen reassured the mare.

Sarjeant pleaded guilty under the Treason Act and served five years behind bars.

Dickie Arbiter, the Queen’s former press secretary, said: “It was a bit of a scary moment at the time.

“She kept her composure. She looked over her shoulder to see what was going on, but she kept walking. Burma is (being a) a bit sly – she has the Burmese under control. She is the knight type. ”

Robart Hardman is the author of the book Queen of our timesDraw a chart of the Queen’s reign.

In an interview with Global News, he recalled a personal encounter with the Queen when he learned of her love for Burmese people while filming a project for her 90th birthday.

“She was looking at all the different horses and then she turned to the horses that she rides herself and she just said to me, ‘Oh, these are Canadians! “He describes and calls the Burmese her “most trusted” horse. .

“And it’s interesting – when the Burmese left parades and public affairs, the Queen said, ‘Yes, I’m also retiring, from people I wouldn’t go anymore because without the Burmese, things won’t be like that,'” he added.

“So that’s how it is.”

The Burmese retired after Operation Colors in 1986. The following year, the Queen took her place in a carriage, the Burmese died of a stroke in 1990.

But the tradition of giving horses continues.

The RCMP has donated eight horses to the Queen since 1969 and she has donated two from her stables.

One of them was Victoria, a five-year-old mare bred from a Canadian stallion named Elizabeth that the RCMP presented to the Queen in 2012.

Victoria will not be taking part in the musical parade when it returns later this month. Her debut will be next year, when the RCMP music parade marks its 150th anniversary.

“It’s going to bring two special things together,” Williamson said.