It’s been two years since Queen Elizabeth II’s passing on September 8, 2022. Millions around the world watched her funeral procession, with many horse lovers noting the Queen’s beloved pony Emma standing stoically by as the hearse carrying her coffin passed by.
The Fell pony made international headlines and was given the Horse of a Lifetime honour, determined by public vote, at the Horse & Hound awards.
Queen Elizabeth II with Emma. (Terry Pendry photo)
Now Her Majesty’s groom Terry Pendry has spoken to People magazine about the last ride the Queen had on Emma the summer before she passed. Pendry, who worked at the stables at Windsor Castle, had been the Queen’s riding companion and groom for over 25 years.
“The very last time with her wasn’t a ride, I walked,” Pendry explained to Gyles Brandreth during the Sept. 6 episode of his podcast Rosebud. “The very last day that she rode was the 18th of July, she rode on the 16th in the riding school. She was very, quite frail. She could go onto the mounting block and step on to Emma, but I always used to have to lift her off.”
The horseman also told Brandreth that rather than join the Queen on horseback as had been the norm for years, given her frailty he chose to walk along beside her and Emma. And the Queen commented on the change, telling him, “‘This hasn’t happened to me since I was a princess…Someone walking alongside me like this.’”
He offered to leave her alone or go get a horse, but she declined and asked him to continue walking. He then made a joke, “’Your pony is 26, you’re 96, that has to be a record!’ ” To which the Queen responded, “‘I suppose you’re right.'”
Pendry said he next saw Her Majesty on July 19 when she popped by the stables for a final visit with Emma before heading to her summer residence, Balmoral. “She just looked at me and said, ‘You were very rude to me yesterday…You said my age,’ and then she bursts into fits of laughter. That was just her. Last time I ever saw her.”
As for Emma, Buckingham Palace confirmed the plans for the pony a month after the funeral in a statement posted to X that read, “Emma paid tribute to Her Majesty during the Ceremonial Procession in Windsor on Monday 19th September. She will continue to be much-loved and cared for at the Royal Mews, Windsor, and regularly exercised by its small, dedicated team.”
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