with jet pilots trying to get the best view of the parade ground and be close enough to catch a glimpse of the King himself! All of this was alien to the horses, but with a carefully planned and executed timetable it was achieved. Cross training - CoH Evans makes a The venue of the pareturn to the Camel Corps tradition rade was a purpose built pavilion with that the STTT stay for longer to assist in room enough to rithe forming of the new mounted unit; val our own Horse the Jordanian Royal Horse Guard. This Guards Parade was both flattering and confirmation The STTT - CoH Evans, FLCoH Harris, Maj J Housby-Skeggs, ground. No expense Jordanian Guard Comd, LCl Giesen, LCpl Joyce that we had succeeded in the parade had been spared and and our mission. It was also obvious once completed it was ‘fit for a king’. have been bred for bull fighting, makthat a deep bond of friendship between There were two full dress rehearsals, ing them brave and quick to react. This British soldiers and the JAF had been prior to the King seeing the parade, meant training was difficult, but still forged. The Jordanians were kind, hoswhen problems were ironed out disachievable, with the help of experienced pitable and accepting of our methods, creetly and photography was banned. hands from both sides. experience and sometimes humour. For The latter was to prevent any leak onto a country that is geographically situated social media as the whole parade was The STTT shared valuable insights into in such a volatile region, to see such a a surprise for the King. The chairman the positioning of horses and men durpublic display of pride and patriotism of the armed forces and Crown Prince ing the training process. As this was was particularly stirring. To witness Hussain bin Abdullah presided over Jordan’s first ever mounted parade it first hand was a privilege. After the these reviews and were both very hapthere was no room for trial and error, contacts that have been made and the py and proud of what their troops had and the learning curve for both horse experiences enjoyed by all, we are lookachieved. and rider was steep. New horses were ing forward to working with our Jordatrained to deal with loud military band nian colleagues again in the future. On the Arab Revolt Centenary Day music, infantry were used to conduct there was a huge drill so the noise was not foreign to the amount of media horses, and then there was the fly past coverage, and dignitaries from all over the world, including Great Britain, attended. The parade went off without a hitch and the King was extremely proud and gave nothing but praise to his soldiers. Spirits were high and it was requested The Parade Adjutant’s horse, Hamza The AL REYEH parade ground
The Mongol Derby 2016 Household Cavalry Team Report by Captain J H S C Harbord, The Life Guards
S
ir Winston Churchill famously said “there is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man”. But, as a cavalryman himself in the late 19th century, he didn’t stop there. He also went on to say that “no hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle”. It was with those words ringing in his ears that, in November 2015, the author submitted his application for five soldiers (himself included) to compete in this year’s Mongol Derby - the world’s “longest and toughest” horse
race at 1000km. A thousand kilometres. For the purposes of context, the straightline distance from Land’s End to John o’ Groats is 970km - and this officer was about to submit himself and four mad (volunteer!) troopers to complete this aboard a total of 28 semi-wild ponies per person, across some of the most barren, albeit beautiful, landscapes in the world. The unrelenting pace of life at Knightsbridge put paid to all aspirations
60 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment
The Mongol Derby Team the day before flying out to Mongolia