[1][2] The Light Horse was engaged through much of the war and fought its first battle at Elandslaagte 21 October 1899, where its first colonel, John James Scott-Chisholme was killed leading from the front.

[1][3][6][7][8] After the successful raising of the siege of Ladysmith the Light horse join the Mafeking Relief Column and were the first to enter the town on the night of 16/17 May 1900.

[1] The Regiment took part in operations during World War I first in the South-West Africa Campaign in what is today Namibia[13] and afterwards in Egypt, Palestine and France.

[1] During the Interbellum the regiment was placed on the reserve but was briefly mobilised in 1922 to support the police during the Second Rand Revolt and fought in the Battle of Ellis Park.

In September 1943 the regiment sailed for North Africa and joined the South African 6th Armoured Division in Egypt as a motorised battalion[1] under command of Colonel R. Reeves-Moore, DSO MC.

[1] After a short period of rest and refitting, on 22 August 1944, the South African 6th Armoured Division was then placed under the command of the United States 5th Army.

The army took part in the attack on the Gothic Line in which during heavy fighting around Monte Porro del Bagno almost a quarter of the Regiment were either killed or wounded before the breakthrough was achieved.

[1][15] The regiment remained in northern Italy for about three months before returning to South Africa in August 1945 where they were demobilised shortly after arriving back home.

[1] The Regiment, now equipped with armoured cars, prospered during the next 15 years reaching a strength of 2,000 by 1975 when it was split into two: Both regiments saw action in the South African Border War (1966–1989) in Northern South-West Africa (now Namibia) and Angola, and were also involved in security operations policing the South Africa's townships in the late 1980s and early 1990s.