Horses that bolted through London to star in Trooping the Colour, Army confirms
The King's official birthday parade gets underway tomorrow and among the hundreds of horses taking part are the three military horses that ran through central London
Three of the military horses who ran loose through central London after being spooked during a training exercise will take part in Trooping the Colour, the Army has confirmed.
A group of five Household Cavalry horses were injured after the sound of construction work in Belgravia caused them to bolt on April 24.
Tennyson, Trojan and Vanquish will take part in the King’s Birthday Parade after making “swift and successful” recoveries and showing “such aptitude and eagerness”, the Army said on Thursday.
Tennyson will be ridden by the division’s most experienced rider, Corporal of Horse Harvey, to provide “extra confidence”.
All three horses underwent rehabilitation at Hyde Park Barracks and were cared for by equine charity The Horse Trust, before returning to service last month.
The other two more seriously injured horses from April’s incident, Vida and Quaker, remain at The Horse Trust and “will do so for as long as they need", the Army said.
The pair were pictured running together as the incident unfolded in the morning rush hour, with grey horse Vida covered in blood.
Some of the animals smashed into vehicles, including a double-decker bus and a black taxi.
Three of the five riders who sustained injuries from the incident have recovered and are back on duty, while the other two are progressing in their recovery and expected to return in due course.
Charles will inspect the soldiers from a carriage rather than on horseback during Trooping the Colour on Saturday, held on Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall to celebrate the monarch’s official birthday.
The announcement comes as animal rights group Peta wrote to the Army urging them to withdraw the horses and retire them permanently, warning of a risk to both the animals and the public’s safety.
Kate Werner, Peta’s senior campaigns manager, said in the letter: "Tradition is never an excuse for animal suffering, and each horse deserves to live free from the stress they endure when paraded through a busy, loud capital city with a human on their back, all for the amusement of noisy, unpredictable crowds."
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