The King's Troop
A short video of the Kings Troop at the Royal Welsh Show in previous years
The Troop
The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery is stationed in St John’s Wood, London. Its duties, as part of the Household Troops, include the firing of Royal Salutes on Royal Anniversaries and State Occasions. The Troop also provides a gun carriage and a team of black horses for State and military funerals. They also take part in Armistice Day parades, the Lord Mayor’s Show and The Queen’s Birthday Parade. In addition, the Troop performs the duties of The Queen’s Life Guard at Horse Guards for three weeks each year.
Before the Second World War, a succession of Horse Artillery Batteries were stationed in London, the last being mechanised in 1939. It was His Majesty King George VI’s wish that after the war a troop of Royal Horse Artillery, mounted and dressed in the traditional manner, should take part in the great ceremonies of State. In 1947, His Majesty inspected the newly formed Riding Troop and said that he wished it to be known as The King’s Troop.
When on parade with its guns, the Troop takes precedence over all other Regiments.
The Horses
The Troop has up to 140 gun team horses which are predominantly purchased in Southern Ireland and Wales. Ideally they are bought as 5 or 6 year olds so that their bone structure has developed enough for them to work in the team straight after being broken in. The lines horses are between 15’2 and 16’2 hands high. The horses are placed in three categories: lead, centre and wheel horses. The gun and limber is pulled by three pairs of horses. The front pair are the leaders. They are taller, more bold, athletic horses which act as the accelerator. The centre pair of horses are slightly smaller. They add extra draught power and keep the traces off the ground. The final pair are the wheel horses who act as the brakes of the team. They are usually quite thick set, strong, powerful animals as they are required to stop the tonne and a half gun behind them. The horses are selected for conformation and colour. This ranges from the bright bay of A Sub Section to the black horses in F Sub Section.
The horses are initially trained using a specialist team of Troop soldiers and instructors at the Defence Animal Centre in Melton Mowbray. They spend three months in Leicestershire prior to arriving in London before Christmas each year. At this stage they are slowly introduced to military equipment and harness work. They are known as ‘Remounts.’ Once the Commanding Officer has seen the Remounts in harness in at least two Musical Drive rehearsals and has deemed them to be proficient enough, they will have their manes removed with clippers (a process known as hogging). This is the equivalent of them passing out of Phase Two training as a trained soldier. The soldiers regularly compete in all equine disciplines as this improves their riding ability and gives the horses a better variety of life. Once the horses have reached retirement age (average 15 years old) they are usually re-homed by ex-Troop personnel. Having spent at least 10 years working in the Gun Team, the horses enjoy their retirement.
The horses all have a four figure Army number on a front hoof and a two or three Troop specific number on the rear right hoof. These are branded onto the hooves by the Farriers and have to be re-burnt as the hoof wall grows. The gun horses’ names are chosen to begin with the same letter as that of the first letter of the Commanding Officers’ surname at the time the horse was purchased. They also have a nick name which is used in the stables on a daily basis. These names are unique to each horse and are never used twice. Chargers must stand taller than 17.2 hands.
A short video of the Kings Troop at the Royal Welsh Show in previous years
The Guns
The guns on parade are 13 pounders and all saw service in The First World War. Each gun and limber weighs 1.5 tonnes and with the team are approximately 54 feet long. Each gun is pulled by six horses, the three on the near side being ridden, whilst the three on the off side are held in hand by the near side jockey, who is known as the Driver. The pair at the front act as the accelerator and the pair at the back, the brakes. Each gun is looked after by a Limber Gunner from each Sub Section. It is their responsibility to maintain the gun and turn it out to the required standard on parade.
Competition Riding
Competition riding improves the performance of both horse and rider on parade. The soldiers are encouraged to participate and The King’s Troop RHA horses and soldiers take part in horse trials, team chases, one day eventing, hunter trials and show jumping events.
There have been a number of well-known horses and riders in The Troop. In the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the British three day event team was managed by Frank Weldon (a past Olympic Gold Medal Team Captain) who used to command The Troop.
Out of the four riders, one was Captain James Templer, a Section Commander. He has the distinction of winning both the major Three-Day Events in the UK – 1962 at Burghley and 1964 at Badminton. Another was Sergeant Ben Jones with his famous Troop horse ‘Master Bernard.’ Sergeant Jones finally went on to win a Gold Medal in the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968.
A career with The King’s Troop
Soldiers joining The Troop typically spend their first eighteen months working with the horses in the lines. During this time they are trained in stable management and horsemanship in order that they reach the required standard to ride on parade. After the initial eighteen months, soldiers may be streamed depending upon their ability and wishes. Some continue to work directly with the horses, progressing to riding in the Gun team, whilst others move to work within an associated trade: The Troop has a full contingent of farriers, saddlers and tailors. Whichever route they choose, all soldiers have the chance to continue to ride and compete regularly. Although some knowledge of horses is beneficial before joining The Troop, the main requirements are a desire to learn, fondness for horses and a willingness to work hard. A varied and interesting military career is possible because The Troop regularly reinforces other Royal Artillery Regiments both on exercise and on operations. Troop soldiers have served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Cyprus and Northern Ireland.
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