Horses of Elizabeth II

Into her reign, this developed into one of her main leisure time activities with a particular emphasis on the breeding of thoroughbreds for horse racing.

The pony was a gift from her grandfather, George V.[1] By age 18, she was an accomplished rider, and continued to ride for pleasure into her nineties.

[3] For eighteen consecutive years, from 1969 to 1986, her horse was a black mare named Burmese, a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Her horse Dunfermline won two of the classics, the Epsom Oaks and St. Leger Stakes, in Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee year of 1977.

She never gambled and is instead said to have had more interest from the outcome of a successful breeding match, but she is said to have read the Racing Post over breakfast every morning.

[1] After the Queen's death, her horses were inherited by her heir and successor, Charles III; the new King had his first winner, Just Fine, at Leicester in October 2022.

Her bloodstock and racing adviser was John Warren, who took over the role from his father in law, Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon, on his death in 2001.

In 2013, as part of the 60th anniversary of the Coronation celebrations, Clare Balding presented the BBC documentary The Queen: a Passion for Horses.