Queen Camilla said an inner-city riding club was getting “bigger and better” after meeting a new addition – a horse that rode out with the late Queen.
Camilla celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Ebony Horse Club based in the heart of Brixton, south London, that has taught hundreds of local children equine skills and helped others begin careers in the industry.
The Queen fed mints to Taylor, a 17-year-old Fell pony, who was regularly photographed being ridden by Queen Elizabeth II’s head groom, Terry Pendry, as he rode out with Elizabeth in Windsor Great Park towards the end of her life.
At the King’s request the pony, alongside former royal carriage horse Maggie, an 11-year-old Cleveland bay, has been rehomed at the club and Camilla watched as Taylor was put through her paces by a young rider.
Camilla’s formal association with the club began in 2009 when she became its president, and she said during her visit: “It gets bigger and better every time I come here. The first time it was a field and that was it – apart from a stable.”
The club, nestled under railway arches with paddocks in the grounds and overlooked by tower blocks, was created in 1996 to give disadvantaged children and teenagers from the area access to horses and riding.
It is thought the Queen heard about the positive impact of the club through friends and her public support has given the organisation a national presence.
Camilla opened the centre in Brixton in 2011 and two years later took the late Queen, a life-long horse lover, to visit.
Sid Holdsworth, Ebony Horse Club’s chief operating officer, said after the visit: “I think it was just so unbelievably special.
“She has always been such an incredibly supportive president, beyond what we would ever have hoped or expected.
“It’s so exciting and for our young people it’s just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they think it’s the coolest thing – we all know the Queen.”
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