The Queen’s love for horses is on display in new unseen footage where she affectionately pets and feeds the animals in Sandringham.
The monarch described one of the horses as an “extraordinary girl” and is heard to say she wonders what goes through the creature’s head.
The clips, filmed at the Royal Stud in Sandringham in April, will be shown in a special feature as part of ITV’s Saturday Platinum Jubilee coverage.
The Queen, a keen horseracing fan, will not attend the Epsom Derby this weekend, but will be watching on television.
In the clips, she observed various horses and foals, alongside her trusted bloodstock and racing adviser John Warren.
Mr Warren, who has been an adviser to the monarch for more than 13 years and also represents other leading horse owners from across the globe, was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) in the latest Queen’s honours.
Gently stroking the coat of one of the horses, the Queen is heard to say: “Well it must be three or four years when she came down into Windsor yard, but behaved as though she’d always been there.”
Admiring the horse, she added: “Extraordinary girl, aren’t you?”
Another clip showed the Queen asking a horse “would you like another one?”, before picking a carrot from a bowl and feeding it.
Later, observing two horses walking alongside each other in the yard, the Queen is heard to say: “I often wonder what goes through her head”.
Trainer Sir Michael Stoute and jockey Ryan Moore also feature in the ITV special with presenter Ed Chamberlin, which was filmed at The Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket in May.
In the ITV feature, Mr Moore praised the Queen for letting him ride with “complete freedom”.
He said: “There is no pressure at all… she’s always let me ride with complete freedom and it’s been a tremendous honour for me.”
In May, the Queen attended the Windsor Horse Show and was also the guest of honour at the equestrian extravaganza A Gallop Through History, the first major event of the Jubilee festivities.
– ITV Racing is on Saturday June 4 at 12.40pm-5pm.
