American Quarter Horses Riding For the First Time in London New Year’s Day Parade

By: AQHA UK

While most people will be spending New Year’s Day getting some much needed rest after the festivities of the night before, a team of American Quarter Horses and AQHA UK members from Great Britain will be getting up very early, loading up their horses, and making their way to London to meet up with other horses and riders to participate in the London New Year’s Day Parade as part of the All the Queen’s Horses group.

The London New Year’s Day Parade now regularly attracts a worldwide TV audience that approaches 300 million, a terrific audience on the streets of about two thirds of a million, and boasts twice as many participants as a little parade offered by Macy’s in New York City on Thanksgiving Day! The London New Year’s Day Parade is now a major entry in the United Kingdom’s calendar of events and is enjoyed by millions of people worldwide.

The American Quarter Horse contingent of the All The Queen’s Horses group consists of…

• Team Leader – Lindsay Doel riding LJ Classic Luke
• Samuel Magdaleno riding Southearn Comfort
• Mary Larcom riding Iced Tee
• Lucy Adams riding CS Texas Cat
• Karen Coleman riding A Bit Of A Dark Horse
• Rebecca Holt riding Jack Te Higgins
• Fiona Powley riding Zippin N Chippin
• Henrietta Campbell riding Bat Aviv
• Jolie Cooper riding Vanilla Fudge
• Annabelle Russell riding Matts Golden Star
• Mike Austin riding Sandis Interest
• Linda Courtney riding Fabulous Mr Fox

More than 8,500 performers representing 20 countries will assemble for the 2015 parade, which will be filled with marching bands, cheerleaders, clowns, horses, acrobats and much more! Among the stars of the show will be the stunning London Borough entries from across the Capital.

PARADE ROUTE

The parade begins outside The Ritz in Piccadilly at noon and proceeds to Piccadilly Circus, turning right into Regent Street, then on Pall Mall and into Whitehall where the parade ends at Parliament Square. The All The Queen’s Horses teams will ride by famous iconic London landmarks such as The Ritz, Regents Street, Trafalgar Square, and Whitehall before finishing up in the shadow of London’s Big Ben in Parliament Square!

The All The Queen’s Horses group, under the leadership of Caroline Marsh, was first invited to take part in the parade in 2012, as part of the Queen’s Jubilee and the London Olympic year. Caroline and her team of volunteers worked extremely hard to set everything in place in just six weeks that year! Such was the success of their participation that they have been invited back each year since.

The team consists of around 70 horses from all equestrian spheres and from all over the UK: Spanish and Portuguese horses in traditional clothing, ex-racehorses, ponies, Side Saddle equestrians, Driving horses, and for the first time in 2015, the American Quarter Horse.

Team member Henrietta Campbell says, “During 10 years of living in central London, where I spent several years working very close to the Royal Mews and Horse Guards’ Parade, I wondered what it must be like to ride a horse through all that hubbub. What an exciting challenge and opportunity to find out what my Israeli-bred Quarter Horse thinks of the heart of our capital city!”

Both Linda Courtney and Annabelle Russell, who will be riding in London on New Year’s Day comment, “We  feel very privileged to be taking part in this event with our wonderful Quarter Horses.”

Jennie Cooper, the mother of 15-year-old Jolie who is riding in the parade says,  “It’s a wonderful opportunity to show everyone that western riding is most definitely alive and thriving in the UK.”

Mike Austin, another team member, says, “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of a team that will be representing the AQHA UK at such a prestigious event.”

Team leader for the Quarter Horse contingent, Lindsay Doel, has been on a bit of a mission for the past 12 months. This was something she really wanted to do, having lived in Central London for many years. She says, “I just think it’s such a chance of a lifetime to ride by iconic areas of London, The Ritz, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, and to be a very small part of something this big. It’s going to be out of all of our comfort zones, without a doubt, and it does mean an early start and a lot of waiting around. On the positive, just think how amazing the experience will be; you would never be able to do this at any other time!”

AQHA UK has helped towards the entry fees and all of the rider are very grateful. However, riders still have the expense of getting the horses into London. Accompanying the group will be photographer Sally Foreman to document the day. The AQHA UK group is really grateful to Caroline Marsh and her crew at All The Queen’s Horses and the LNYD team for inviting them this year. The whole of the ATQH organizational team are volunteers, and they are doing such a fabulous job so that AQHA UK and many others can be a part of this event.

For more information visit the links below, and tune in on New Year’s Day to watch the parade!

London New Year’s Day Parade – www.lnydp.com
All The Queen’s Horses – www.allthequeenshorses.co.uk
AQHA UK- www.aqha.uk.com