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A new picture has been released of one of the Queen’s favourite ponies that made a poignant appearance at her funeral. Emma the Fell Pony stood at the side of the Long Walk on the approach to Windsor Castle as the coffin carrying her devoted owner was driven past at her final farewell last month.
A portrait of the black pony, which was born in 1996, has been released by Buckingham Palace. During the ceremonial procession on September 19, Emma stood in a gap between the hundreds of thousands of floral tributes, in the care of the Queen’s trusted stud groom and manager at Windsor Castle, Terry Pendry.
Mr Pendry, in his bowler hat, black jacket and riding boots, bowed his head as the coffin passed. Behind them were grooms from the Royal Mews at Windsor wearing black armbands.
Emma’s ears twitched and tail swished, and the pony stomped on the ground twice with a front hoof as the Queen’s coffin moved past in the state hearse with a military parade. Mr Pendry once described Emma, acquired by the Queen in 2004, as “a wonderful servant to Her Majesty” and one of her favourite ever horses.
The Queen regularly rode Emma for light exercise in the grounds around Windsor Castle. The Palace said that Emma would continue to be much-loved and cared for at the Royal Mews in Windsor.
Emma enjoyed a short but successful competition career after being bought by the Queen as an eight-year-old pony and was named Cuddy Supreme Champion at the Devon County Show in June 2006. Emma also qualified at the Horse of the Year Show Ridden Finals, and at Olympia in the Mountain and the Moorland Supreme Championship Final.
Emma retired in December 2007 and was returned to the Royal Mews at Windsor. The pony appeared in three Pageants at The Royal Windsor Horse Show to mark the Diamond Jubilee, the 90th birthday celebrations and the Platinum Jubilee.
The Queen was known for her life-long love of horses which began when her grandfather King George V gave her a Shetland Pony called Peggy. She became knowledgeable as a rider, owner and breeder of horses and her passion for them was evident at race meetings, which included the Derby at Epsom and Royal Ascot.
The Queen often watched her own horses run, and witnessed some notable wins. On June 18, 1954, her horse Landau won the Rous Memorial Stakes and a stallion called Aureole won the Hardwicke Stakes.
In 1957 the Queen had four winners during Ascot week and she became the first reigning monarch to have won Royal Ascot’s Gold Cup with her thoroughbred Estimate in 2013. Her horse Highclere won the Prix de Diane at Chantilly in 1975.
The Queen was involved in ensuring the survival of a number of rare breeds of horses and ponies through breeding programmes in both her private yards and the working yards which reared horses for royal and state occasions. She championed breeds, including Highland Ponies, Fell Ponies and Cleveland Bays.
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