After 70 years on the throne, the late Queen Elizabeth II was well-acquainted with countless horses.
The monarch’s fondness for the animal was well-known and she pursued what she once called ‘a simple philosophy’: to breed ‘a horse faster than other people’s’.
Queen Elizabeth ran an intense equine operation, reportedly taking an interest in horses at the earliest possible stage of their development.
She had matings and stallions booked months in advance and CCTV cameras were installed in the boxes at her Sandringham stud farm to allow her to watch foals being born.
Her first horse, a Shetland pony, was a present for her fourth birthday from her grandfather George V – she inherited the racing and breeding stock of her father, George VI, after his death in 1952.
For 70 years her stock were marked out by the famous purple-bodied, red-sleeved, gold-embroidered jockey outfits established by her father, while grooms from the Royal Stud at Sandringham wore ‘E II R’ gilets and scarves.
By the time of her death, the Queen’s equine assets were worth an estimated £27million, some of which King Charles has since begun to sell off.
In a 2020 interview the Queen’s stud groom and manager at Windsor Castle, Terry Pendry, chose special horses Her Majesty and her family loved riding and watching, while the monarch’s bloodstock and racing advisor John Warren chose memorable racehorses from the Royal paddock.
Burmese
The Queen rode Burmese in Trooping the Colour for 18 years before the mare retired in 1986, the year the pair are pictured
Pictured during Trooping the Colour in 1979, Burmese was a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Doublet
Princess Anne won the European Eventing Championships at Burghley on Doublet in 1971
The Queen and the Princess Royal pictured after the latter placed fifth in the Badminton Horse Trials
Columbus
The Princess Royal first evented Columbus at novice and intermediate levels but said he was more of a ‘man’s ride’ because of his strength – his stable name was The Monster. The two are pictured in 1972 during the speed and endurance section of the Burghley Horse Trials
Emma
A Fell Pony who stood to watch (right) as the Queen’s coffin arrived at Windsor Castle in 2022, Emma was named ‘horse of a lifetime’ at the Horse and Hound awards later that year
Aureole
The chestnut stallion was bred by King George VI and won seven races, also finishing second in the Epsom Derby. Pictured after winning the Coronation Cup at Epsom
Doutelle
Doutelle was the first top-class horse bred by the Queen in her own right but his career as a stallion was cut short when he died at the age of eight. Pictured: Princess Margaret listened as the Queen point to Doutelle, who had just won the 2,000 Guineas Trial Stakes at Kempton
Highclere
The bay mare was a dual Classic winner and placed second in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Ascot, going on to become an ‘outstanding’ broodmare
Phantom Gold
The great-granddaughter of the Queen’s broodmare Amicable was trained by the Earl of Huntingdon. Described as a ‘remarkable mare’, Phantom Gold produced daughters including Golden Stream, a Stakes winner, and is pictured at Royal Ascot Ladies Day in 1995
Estimate
An Ascot Gold Cup winner as a four-year-old, Estimate’s triumph marked the first time a reigning monarch had won that race, which gave the late Queen ‘great pleasure’. She is pictured with Estimate and Sir Michael Stoute in the winners enclosure in 2012
