Waiouru riders to join Queen's pageant

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 15, Issue 693, 1 July 1997, Page 1

Waiouru riders to join Queen's pageant

By

Anne

McElwain

Major Terry Kinloch and Cor poral Richard Player from Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (QAMR), Army Training Group in Waiouru set off for London recently to ride in the Royal Pageant of the Horse on 5 July, to mark the Queen's golden wedding anniversary. The request for two soldiers from New Zealand to carry our flag in a ride past at Windsor Great Park arrived a year ago. Maj Kinloch, who has been riding for five years, was chosen in recognition of the efforts to prepare his Mounted Rifles equipment for the VJ Commemorations in 1995. The selection of the other rider from QAMR was based on initiative, skill and performance during troop manoeuvres. Corp Player, as the winner of the Supertrooper Award, had to learn how to ride and control a horse over the past two

months in preparation for this event. "We are both wearing World War I uniforms which represent the heyday of New Zealand's horse mounted troops," said Maj Kinloch. They will be riding horses supplied from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, as will most of the other foreign riders taking part in the pageant. Riders from 10 Commonwealth countries will also be taking part. A total of more than 1000 horses and carriages are to participate in an equine tribute in honour of Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. The aim of the event is to unite and represent every equestrian discipline on a grand scale. A musical pageant will tell the story of the horse from birth through training, to the many ways it has helped man through the ages.