after horses that are so active and the amount that soldiers learn from this reaps dividends when their experiences are applied down in London.
The product of winter training is a display of some excellent riding skills!
The Royal Wessex Yeomanry Ride is an annual event that takes place on the Badminton Estate in Gloucestershire. After selecting our fittest horses and conducting various training sessions, we drove the long distance to Badminton to join the field. As always there are two divisions in the race; thoroughbreds and Cavalry Blacks; considering this, we had some excellent results. Three riders finished the race in excellent style, while a couple of our younger horses decided that they did not appreciate Cotswold dry-stone-walling at all! This being said, everyone learned something from their ride and had a good time. We are grateful to the Beaufort and the local organis-
ers for the opportunity. Winter Training Troop has evolved from the days of old when it was purely an officer activity into a forward-leaning training centre focussed on the development of soldier equitation. Looking to the future, WTT still has, and always will have, an extremely important role to play in the life of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, and to the wider Household Division. Most importantly it is still fun, something that the Army should strive to keep at the heart of all activities. It is a huge privilege to be the Winter Training Troop Leader and without doubt the most satisfying sight of the season is a trooper returning to Melton Mowbray after a successful day out. Every single time it is smiles all round.
The Musical Ride
by Captain G R J Ashby, The Life Guards
T
he Musical ride has performed well over the past year but sadly not as often as we’d like to have done. The bad weather and lack of large commercial events early in the season rather crushed the grand plans of the then Musical Ride Officer, Captain Fred Hopkinson. Disappointingly for the show itself and the Musical Ride, the Lambourn Show was cancelled meaning that the Soldiers and horses did not have a chance to test and adjust the performance before performing in front of the Colonel in Chief, Her Majesty The Queen. The Royal Windsor Horse Show was upon them, and after innumerable build up sessions to get horses fit and soldier’s skills honed, they were ready. The Riding Master and his team had put many extra hours in and the stage was set. The pace of the event was certainly a
very welcome break from the daily hustle of the Regiment: CoH Grice had cemented all the elements immaculately. The Ride performed three times during the show. Her Majesty watches the Ride at the show every year and has a beedy eye for detail. Captain Fred Hopkinson asked for permission to carry on and The Queen was happy. A successful start to the season! Every so often the Musical Ride attends a non-annual event, giving a chance for the Household Cavalry’s soldiers to show their flexibility. The Ride’s format did not fit the Berkeley Homes Event which was to happen on Horse Guards Parade. The show had to be done in trot rather than the usual canter. The Riding Master altered the show and the team produced an impressive performance. The Musical Ride was there to show itself as the gem that it is in London’s
Ceremonial Crown jewels. The Major of London, Boris Johnson watched with, we hope, a certain amount of pride that the Grand Finale evokes in every Briton when the Union Flag is carried out at the charge. Regimental Training and the Household Cavalry Open Day was the third and final event in which the Ride took part. The weather was sweltering and the crowd had been pumped up from several other entertaining performances during the day. The conditions were sticky and dusty but it was another performance of which to be proud. The end of the show saw a salute given to the Captain of the Musical Ride; Fred Hopkinson was toasted out of the position and sadly into ‘Civvie Street’! The author will be proudly taking over for 2014.
Household Cavalry Training Wing by Major W Douglas
I
n March 2013, Capt Tom Davey handed over the reins of the Household Cavalry Training Wing (HCTW). As observant readers will notice the active word is Training, both here in Windsor and at Knightsbridge, with other curricular activities including continuation training and a dash of green thrown in the mix. As soon as I arrived, I was politely informed that I would be required for the Major General’s Inspection as the Escorting Officer. It was one that I would relish, as having not been in the saddle for a while, a Frockcoat and white gloves made the transition that little bit easier.
Over the past nine months as the Training Officer, I have seen nine rides pass through the door. The ‘Too Tall’ policy backfired on the RAC and I found another 15 young soldiers requiring training to add to the already frantic sausage machine factory. The first thing on my agenda having returned from AFV Gunnery School as OC Light Armour, was to firm up and finish off the formal Systems Approach to Training process on paper. Thanks to CoH Burton and Scholes who have continued to provide me with the relevant information to complete the
course folder. One can say that we are now DSAT compliant. As this Journal goes to press, four officers will have passed through the factory and are now in HCMR enjoying duties and no doubt extras! We have seen a mix of Phase 2 recruits, soldiers transferring from other regiments, the Band and the occasional H Div soldier in Windsor. At one point there were 60 Soldiers under Training, all in Windsor and for three months without the outdoor manage due to a waterlogged surface. This seems to be a perennial problem; a ‘statement of need’ has gone
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