One of the Household Cavalry horses that was injured after bolting through central London will take part in the King’s Birthday Parade on Saturday.
Black steed Tennyson was one of five horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) that was injured after being spooked by rubble being dropped through a plastic tunnel while on an exercise in Belgravia on April 24.
He was treated for wounds but deemed fit to return to duty last month.
On Thursday, the HCMR announced that Tennyson would feature in the Sovereign’s Escort during the Trooping the Colour ceremony, which will feature 242 horses.
The Escort leads the King down the Mall from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade.
Corporal of Horse Harvey, the Life Guards Squadron Equitation Instructor, will ride Tennyson down the Mall.
Tennyson’s stablemates Trojan and Vanquish, who were also injured in the incident, will also feature in the King’s Life Guard.
Captain Charles Carr-Smith, of the HCMR, said: “Military Working Horse Tennyson is the epitome of a Cavalry Black.
"Bold and brave as a war horse should be, yet a gentleman to ride and groom.
“Tennyson has returned to service without missing a step. His return has lifted the spirits of those in 1 Troop the Life Guards.
"Knowing that this brilliant horse will once again carry its rider carefully down the Mall or canter off, leaping over log piles in Melton Mowbray, is a comfort to our less experienced riders, who will undoubtedly scramble to put their names alongside his for daily exercise.”
Earlier this week, animal rights group Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) urged the Army to withdraw the animals involved in the incident from service.
In a letter to HCMR’s commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Mathew Woodward, the group warned that letting the horses perform in front of the crowds at Trooping is a risk to both the animals’ and the public’s safety.
The event draws huge crowds and traditionally involves the royal family gathering on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after a display of pomp and military pageantry on Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall.
The King, who is being treated for cancer, will inspect the soldiers from a carriage rather than on horseback this year.
