Soldiers and horses of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment swapped the streets of London for the shores of Hampshire during their annual Summer Camp, deploying to Hayling Island Beach for a day of equine training that was as demanding as it was enjoyable.
Soldiers and horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at Hayling Island beach.
Soldiers and horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at Hayling Island beach.
Soldiers and horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at Hayling Island beach.
Soldiers and horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at Hayling Island beach.
Soldiers and horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at Hayling Island beach.
The Life Guards and Blues and Royals took their Military Working Horses to Hayling Island West Beach as part of a three-week summer training programme designed to sharpen equine and military skills away from the regiment's ceremonial home at Knightsbridge Barracks.
It had been an outstanding year for the regiment before the beach day arrived. The Household Cavalry had welcomed the Presidents of France, the United States, Germany and Nigeria to Windsor, protected His Majesty The King during the State Opening of Parliament, and delivered a magnificent King's Birthday Parade, as well as delivering daily duties as The King’s Life Guard in Whitehall.
The Hampshire coast provided a well-deserved change of scene, but the training purpose was never far away.
While the sight of soldiers and horses galloping into the sea made for memorable images, the exercise had a clear operational rationale. The regiment's horses ride out in London every day, navigating the constant noise and unpredictability of city life; traffic, tourists, sirens, and sudden movements. As prey animals, horses are instinctively alert to the unfamiliar, and a startled horse in the middle of a State Visit can pose a very real risk.
Soldiers and horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at Hayling Island beach.
The Cavalry work hard to expose their horses to as many varied environments as possible, building the confidence and resilience that a busy ceremonial schedule demands. A calm horse is an experienced one, and an experienced horse is far less likely to react to the sudden crack of an umbrella opening or the wail of a passing ambulance.
Hayling Island provided exactly the kind of novel sensory experience the horses needed. The youngest animals encountered the sea for the very first time, initially uncertain as the sand shifted beneath their hooves and the sounds around them, waves, seagulls, children with spades, bore no resemblance to anything they had known at Knightsbridge. Introducing novice horses to the water, teaching them to swim and remain steady in an unfamiliar environment, was a significant step in building the partnerships that make for safe and confident riding on duty.
Riding on sand also gave The Life Guards the opportunity to practise the complex movements required for State Visits and other ceremonial duties, with the added benefit that any falls came with a considerably softer landing than London's streets.
Soldiers and horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at Hayling Island beach.
On a warm summer's day, it was not long before horses and riders were in the waves together. The bonds forged in the sea, between soldier and horse, and across the regiment, were exactly what the training was designed to build. The morale boost that comes from a day like this, the fresh air, the freedom of the Hampshire countryside, and the sheer joy of horses encountering the sea, was expected to sustain the regiment as it prepares for a busy Autumn ceremonial season.
The Household Cavalry is a dual role regiment. Alongside their celebrated ceremonial commitments, soldiers are also preparing for operational deployments, currently training with drones, and with the new Ajax variants, state-of-the-art armoured tracked vehicles offering exceptional reconnaissance and firepower capabilities for future commitments overseas.
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