My favorite photo of the Queen is this one, where she is galloping like the wind, her scarf slipped back on her head, looking into the distance with an awareness of the moment while leaving her cares behind. She is perfectly in control of her horse, while at the same time letting him gallop on.
Away from the palace, her duties and the weight of being constantly observed, she found respite and joy in her horses. She loved them all, from those who raced in her colors to the four-in-hand pulling the carriage for her husband, Prince Philip. Her Majesty was a true horsewoman, both in and out of the saddle, with a thorough knowledge of bloodlines.
Through her family, she was connected to a variety of disciplines. Her father, King George VI, was quite a rider who enjoyed fox hunting. Prince Philip wrote the rules for combined driving and competed in that discipline.
Her son, Charles (now the King) dabbled in racing and played polo. His sister, Princess Anne, evented, becoming European Champion and went on to follow her father as president of the FEI.
The Queen’s granddaughter and Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall, also became European Champion and then World Champion as well, at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.
The Queen rode all her life, whether side-saddle in uniform, at the Trooping of the Colour aboard Burmese, the favorite black mare given to her by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or astride on casual trail rides, like those she shared with President Ronald Reagan.
The Queen and the President had a love of horses in common.
She continued hacking out until quite recently, enjoying the stout native ponies that were a bit closer to the ground than the more statuesque mounts that had been her choice in her younger days.
I hope she is with her horses again now, mounting up after patting her corgis and greeting Prince Phillip, before going for a blissful gallop into eternity.