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She was the pony who captured the nation’s hearts during the Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and came to embody a nation’s gratitude and loyalty to their Monarch.
When the late Queen Elizabeth’s funeral cortege arrived at Windsor Castle for the last act of her long goodbye last month, her fell pony Emma was there to greet her.
The late Queen’s groom Terry Pendry looped her riding headscarf through Emma’s saddle as they both said farewell.
Standing between beds of flowers as her master’s coffin passed by, ahead of the Committal Service at St George’s Chapel, the pony’s appearance proved to be one of the poignant highlights of a day already full of emotion.
Now Buckingham palace has released a new photograph of Emma in tribute to the role she played during the state funeral.
For the past fifteen years, Queen Elizabeth regularly rode Emma for light exercise in the grounds around Windsor Castle, during Her Majesty’s private time.
Palace officials made it clear Emma “will continue to be much-loved and cared for at the Royal Mews, Windsor, and regularly exercised by its small, dedicated team”.
The pony, whose full name is Carltonlima Emma, was born in 1996 to the Sire Tebay Campbell Ton Victor and the Dam Heltondale Daisy IV.
Emma, who was bought by the late Queen in 2004 as an 8-year-old, went on to have a short but successful competition career.
In June 2006, she was named Cuddy Supreme Champion at the Devon County Show. During her career she also qualified at the Horse of the Year Show Ridden Finals, and at Olympia in the Mountain and the Moorland Supreme Championship Final.
On her retirement in December 2007, she returned to the Royal Mews at Windsor and from there was regularly taken out by the late Queen in the private grounds around Windsor Castle. Emma appeared in three Pageants at The Royal Windsor Horse Show to mark the Diamond Jubilee, the 90th Birthday celebrations and the Platinum Jubilee.
The late Queen’s first pony was given to Her Majesty by her grandfather King George V – a Shetland called Peggy, marking the beginning of a lifelong love of horses. Her Majesty was known for her almost encyclopedic knowledge of horses, as well as her own skill as a rider, owner and breeder of horses.
Her passion for them was evident at the race meetings she attended publicly, particularly the Derby at Epsom and Royal Ascot.
She often watched her own horses run and win, from early in her reign until her final years. On 18 June 1954 her horse Landau won the Rous Memorial Stakes and a stallion called Aureole won the Hardwicke Stakes.
In 1957 The Queen had four winners during Ascot week and she became the first reigning monarch to have won Royal Ascot’s Gold Cup with her thoroughbred Estimate in 2013. Her horse
The Queen was also involved in ensuring the survival of a number of rare breeds of horses and ponies through the breeding programmes in both her private yards and the working yards which bred horses used for Royal and State occasions.
Breeds which Her Majesty championed included Highland ponies, Fell ponies and Cleveland Bays.
Before her death Mr Pendry told The Telegraph: “When Her Majesty is with horses she’s in her element. With horses she is always in a great mood, thoroughly enjoying herself.”
Mr Pendry, a former professional jockey and member of the Household Cavalry Riding Staff who looked after all Her Majesty’s private horses and ponies at Windsor, added: “Horses have always been her passion ever since she was a small princess.
“She is an equine encyclopedia. There’s nothing she doesn’t know about horses. There is nobody with an equine knowledge to match hers.”