New Year’s Day Parade by Jo Monck C
an you imagine tacking up your horse opposite the Hard Rock Cafe deep in the heart of London, starting your hack at the Ritz, riding along Piccadilly, Regent Street and down Whitehall, past Downing Street, through Parliament Square under the iconic face of Big Ben, stopping off at Horse Guards for a breather and finishing off your ride outside the gates of Buckingham Palace? Well, thats what fiſty five riders did this New Years Day as they took part in the biggest parade in the world riding with All The Queens Horses.
A very early almost empty ferry took me across the Solent from the Isle of Wight on New Years day. Getting up at 3.45am would normally have me clinging onto my pillow when the alarm goes off but this is the one time of year I don't mind my multiple alarms disturbing, me as it is the London New Years Day Parade and I am really looking forward to this annual event that has been marked on my calendar for the past seven years. It is one of the biggest Parades in the world and takes place in the heart of London, adding horses to it was an inspired idea thought up by organiser Caroline Marsh in 2012.
This year the weather was just perfect, the drive into London was also perfect, driſting into town with barely a hold up, and de- spite joining the wrong queue of cars, which were incidentally classic and about to go off down the Parade route, they really didn’t need a mucky Skoda Yeti joining them! We eventually ended up in the right place and parked up.
The little horse village that springs into being opposite the Hard Rock Cafe, just down from the Ritz, is already buzzing with activity, horses are unloaded and are munching hay hanging from hay nets on the railings just before the underpass which would normally be humming with the sound of London traffic, today it had taken a trip back in time and horses rule this little spot just outside Green Park. There is a stand serving fabulous food, a little oasis before the madness of the Parade. Already people are in costume and horses are being transformed from every- day equines to such stuff as dreams are made of. Ordinary horses and riders are about to do an extraordinary thing, to ride through the streets of London on New Years Day with the sound of a crowd of well over half a million people cheering them on. Are they nervous? The Horses don't look it, taking everything in their
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stride. From mighty Shires to Shetlands with the personality of a mighty Shire. Connemaras, Friesians, Warmbloods, Arabs, Welsh Ponies, so many breeds in one place all set to show off to the crowds. The theme this year is London Loves Life and the costumes absolutely live up to the brief. Colour is everywhere, from 19thC costume to 60's Flower Power.
Everything goes like clockwork, every horse and rider is lined up on time ready for the off. The scene ahead is pure organised mayhem, marching bands, huge balloons, dancers, even a life-size dinosaur which thankfully went off down the route first. Right, say the horses, let’s show them what we can do. Horses and riders travel from all corners of England to take part in this prestigious event. Vicki Zeta Price Sanderson travelled all the way from Leeds in West Yorkshire with her 16.2 Hunter Rio who is 19 years old, Vicki has owned him since he was a yearling and this is their fiſth year of riding in the Parade. They stay in Windsor overnight before the event. Vicki’s extravagant costume was based on the Notting Hill Carnival and was seen across Britain on BBC News that evening. I asked Vicki what she liked best about the day ‘I love the excitement, the costume making and the fabulous team from All The Queens Horses that I now class as firm friends, meeting the crowds from all over the world and letting Rio meet children who are seeing a horse for probably the first time ever’ says Vicki.
From the other end of the country came Sarah Blake from East Dorset. Sarah travelled up on the day with her twelve year old traditional cob Super Sammy, whom she has owned for five years. Despite getting stuck in mud for an hour whilst picking up a team member and hav- ing to remove a fence to reverse out, Sarah made it on time and was in costume as Queen for the day with Sammy in a very regal saddlecloth.
Organiser Caroline Marsh talks about this years Parade ‘This year was our ninth year of taking part in the Parade. We had our first Shire horse, Laura Burgess on Kobe, Laura was over the moon to take part but nervous as it was her first time’. At the other end of the height scale were the Racing Shetlands who were fabulous, great fun and the crowd just loved them The Parade starts off at the Ritz and finishes in Parliament Square, it passes through some of the most iconic streets in London and whilst Nelson looks watchfully down from
his column, the horses shoes clip clop on the tarmac taking London back to a time when they were the main form of transport and I'm sure Nelson would approve of this New Years Day equine invasion. The crowds are four deep in places with people straining to get a look at everything, people are perched everywhere. I watch as one of the riders goes to the barriers and a child looks totally enchanted as they touch a velvet muzzle for probably the first time ever 'are they real?' a little girl asks her father. All The Queens Horses are definitely the most interactive part of the Parade, horses are great grounders and it does't matter how old you are, you are a child again when you are able to touch a horse.
The crowds are still four deep as we start on the last leg of the route, Union Jack flags are waving everywhere and the speakers are blasting out the commentary for the television stations, at Parliament Square we turn off for Horse Guards and suddenly there is a little lull. The street is relatively empty and the horses hooves are suddenly echoey on the road passing the row of regency terraced town houses, just as we enter the street for Horse Guards the scene before me is straight out of the 19thc, the Concours d’elegance team are totally in character with their surroundings and I take my favourite photo of the day.
All too soon we are walking up the Mall to Buckingham Palace, time has flown by and my walk back across Green Park in the fading evening light seems too early. As always you are leſt with a feeling of 'did that really happen'. I grab a slice of cake from the fabulous food stand and a cup of tea, I sit and watch the horse village slowly empty out and our little patch of the city becomes just another London Road once again.
One silver glittery hoof print remains on the pavement as a reminder that just for a little while on New Years Day this was home to a group of fiſty five extraordinary horses and their equally extraordinary riders.
If you are interested in taking part in the Parade with All The Queens Horses please contact Caroline Marsh.
www.allthequeenshorses.co.uk
For the latest news visit
www.centralhorsenews.co.uk
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