Her Majesty The Queen visited the Mars Badminton Horse Trials last week in her role as patron of Ebony Horse Club, which was the event’s designated charity.
Ebony Horse Club is a riding stables in Brixton, London which uses horses to raise the education, life skills, wellbeing and aspirations of young people from disadvantaged communities within Lambeth.
“I first came across the Ebony Horse Club a few years ago in Brixton and I was so moved and humbled by the whole thing that I felt now was the time to get it going with a riding school,” said Her Majesty.
“I remember it as just a patch of ground with no stables, so it is huge thanks to all the volunteers who work so hard. I am thrilled to be its Patron.”
Alumni
Graduates of Ebony Horse Club include Khadijah Mellah, who sprung to prominence after winning a charity flat race in 2019, and jockey Hezekiah March, who made his debut at Plumpton earlier this year.
“I have been so touched by seeing the joy that ponies bring to these young people. I know from my own life experiences the therapeutic effect that horses can have,” said international event rider Pippa Funnell who is an ambassador for the Ebony Horse Club.
Badminton title sponsors, Mars, presented the charity with a year’s supply of horse feed.
Demo
Four of the charity’s riders were chosen to take part in a demonstration in the main arena at Badminton in front of the The Queen.
“We are beyond thrilled to have taken part in this, something so big, I never thought I would be part of,” said Theo Dorton, one of the demo riders.
“Thank you to Ebony for having me and giving me the opportunity to perform at Badminton. It has been amazing and I just can’t wait to do more.”
Sid Holdsworth, CEO of Ebony Horse Club said “This is a fantastic opportunity for our brilliantly talented young people, who were so excited to ride for HM The Queen. Thanks to our fantastic group of volunteers, the team at Badminton and HM The Queen, we have all had a fantastic day.”
Main image by Kit Houghton & Sally Newcomb/Badminton Horse Trials.
