Riders from King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery rehearse complex VE Day routine

Belfast Telegraph

24-04-2025

Troops on 48 Irish draught horses performed a display on Parade Square, at Woolwich Barracks, south-east London, on Thursday.
The artillery were then seen practising a complex procedure known as a Musical Drive, where mounted gun teams performed choreographed manoeuvres before mock-firing 13-pound First World War-era guns.
Sergeant Paul Renton, 41, from Coventry, told the PA news agency that the unit is training in more complex manoeuvres than those they will perform at the VE Day parade. A member of The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery prepares the horses (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
'If we can do a Musical Drive, the ceremonial parade is a walk in the park,' he said.
In a Musical Drive, six-horse teams pull wheeled field guns at speed, echoing First World War military traditions, and perform technical moves such as the 'scissor' where gun teams cross.
'We cannot afford to get it wrong,' Sgt Renton said.
'We are the senior regiment of the British army and it is nice to know that.'
Following VE Day, the unit has a long summer ahead which will see them appear at the Royal Windsor Horse Show between May 15 and May 18.
Captain Iain Ritchie, who served in Nato's enhanced forward presence in Estonia, said the VE Day celebrations feel important, given the context of the war in Ukraine.
'Today, I think the sacrifices that those men and women made 80 years ago is even more relevant,' he said.
Captain Ritchie described how his grandfather, who was in the Royal Navy, influenced his ambition to join the forces, saying: 'I have his medals in my office and his pocket watch that he carried with him throughout the war still sits with me today.
'I'm sure VE Day means different things to all the soldiers but, you know, we've got to remember the sacrifices that those men and women made for us.'
Lance Bombardier Harry Hoult, 21, from Leicestershire, will be riding as the lead driver of a gun team in the VE Day parade.
'It's an incredible opportunity for me,' he said.
'My grandad is really proud. He had relatives who would have served in the war.
'He told me how proud he is of me. He is shocked really that people like me, so young, are on parade – front and centre.
'It is a chance of a lifetime,' he added.
Gunner Sallyanne Burberymayes, 27, from Brighton, described how excited her father, Alan, is to see her involved in the historic day, as he also served in the past.
'He is just as passionate as I am about it. He's my number one fan,' she said.
Gunner Burberymayes, who as a first-year apprentice farrier is learning the skilled craft of shoeing cavalry horses, added from her spot in the forge: 'The family are telling people to look out for me on TV.'