RCMP horse once named "Terror" given as gift to The Queen

[CougarKing]

And now for something completely different.

George, an RCMP Musical Ride horse, given as gift to The Queen

By Pat Hewitt, The Canadian Press--

BERKSHIRE, England - First he was a star of the RCMP's Musical Ride, and now George, the black gelding from Pakenham, Ont., has joined the Queen's royal stables after a presentation full of pomp and ceremony on the grounds of Windsor Castle.


For only the fourth time in the force's history, a horse from the RCMP's Musical Ride was given to the Queen, as thousands of spectators attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show and Royal Tattoo Saturday.


The police service horse turns nine on Monday and stands 17 hands high and weighs 1,375 pounds. The horse follows three of his bloodline relatives in joining the Royal Mews. The Mounties presented The Queen with Burmese in 1969, Centenial in 1973 to mark the 100th anniversary of the RCMP, and Saint James in 1998 to celebrate the RCMPs 125th anniversary.


Thirteen members of the RCMP Pipes and Drums Band came onto the riding arena just before the finale of the Royal Tattoo and played "The Maple Leaf Forever". Then Saint James, the horse that the RCMP gave Her Majesty in 1998, and George, were ridden out into the field and approached the box where the Queen was seated. The Queen came forward was presented with the horse by RCMP Commissioner William Elliott with Canadian Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan and Canadian High Commissioner James Wright nearby.


The ceremony also featured a two-minute video, narrated by Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen, that included still images and video of the past presentation to the Queen of the other three RCMP horses. It also showed the Queen's presentation of a horse called Golden Jubilee to the Mounties in 2002 in honour of her Golden Jubilee year.


"I called Leslie Nielson. His father was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and he agreed to do the narration with his velvet voice. So it's a very, very Canadian night in the U.K. at the Royal Windsor Horse Show," said RCMP Superintendent Greg Peters in an interview Saturday.


The easygoing black horse with a white patch on his forehead was renamed George, in honour of the Queen's grandfather, King George V. But his previous name, Peters said, was Terror - a name chosen by a child in the Mounties' Name That Foal Contest back in 2000.


Peters said a child had written and said that one of the ships that doomed British explorer Sir John Franklin travelled with in his search for the Northwest Passage in the 1845 was named HMS Terror, so the horse was named Terror.


"We switched the name obviously from Terror to George," said Peters.

 

[a78jumper]

What does the billionaire Queen of Great Britain need another horse for at the age of 83?

This animal was shipped commercial air to England on KLM, and a big entourage presented it last night-surely the money could have been put to some other use? And if the horse was surplus to the RCMP's requirements it should have been sold via Service Canada Crown Assets or whatever they are calling it these days.

Perhaps the RCMP pension fund should be hit for the costs involved-boy you would see some backtracking then! But what the  h*ll it's only tax dollars.

 

[Strike]

Wow.  Nit pick much?

I remember when the last horse was presented and Her Majesty made a point of mentioning that she was sad that she couldn't ride as much anymore, as the horses from the RCMP were always her favourites.  She would regularly ride them during public mounted appearances.

Great story and hopefully the tradition will continue.

 

[Smirnoff123]

To me it seems a little backwards, giving a gift on your own anniversary? I'm sure that there is a reason that I am not aware of though.

 

[a78jumper]

It is called sucking up to those who perceive themselves superior by birth status alone ie divine. I doubt she will ever even ride it given her age, like giving a Harley to your grandmother.

 

[danchapps]

My question would be, did she not technically own the horse anyway? I mean, considering it was a crown asset, and well, she is the crown, would it not have been her horse, just on issue to the RCMP? That would negate any selling off that the crown assets commission would have to do. Personally I think it's great PR for the RCMP, to have a show like that in England, must have been something to see I'm sure.

 

[a78jumper]

Chacun a son gout. The Crown is an outdated figure of speech-the horse is owned by the people of Canada, just as the "Crown Jewels" are owned by the people of the UK, not the sovereign.

 

[Jungle]

Chacun a son gout. The Crown is an outdated figure of speech-the horse is owned by the people of Canada, just as the "Crown Jewels" are owned by the people of the UK, not the sovereign.

I take it you would like to see Canada become a republic... I think the day will come eventually. I don't mind the present system, but I think the monarchy will lose relevancy after the current monarch is gone.
Australia had a referendum on this very subject at the end of 1999, with a result of 45% in favour; they will likely go the republican route someday.

 

[PMedMoe]

The Queen reciprocates.
Article Link

Kenside Wallow of Sandringham walked toward the stage quietly and with dignity befitting her regal lineage.

But soon, the 16-month-old yellow Labrador retriever, more familiarly called Suzanna, showed her youthful exuberance, refusing to sit, preferring instead to sniff Prince Edward. Her tail wagged as the Earl of Wessex rubbed behind her ear and handed the leash to RCMP Commissioner William Elliott. With that the Mounties accepted their canine gift from the prince's mother, the Queen, a symbol of Canada's relationship with the Royal Family.

When the applause came, Suzanna, now an RCMP mascot and service dog, stood with purpose, lapped up the attention and stared directly into the cameras like any well-trained member of royalty.

More on link

If you read further in the article, you will see that the Mounties have only given the Queen four horses since 1969 and the Queen gave a horse to the RCMP in 2002 and now the dog.