A horse reared in Abergavenny has been selected by the British Army for a unique ceremonial role within a historic cavalry unit based in Germany.

The five year-old Irish-bred grey gelding was chosen for The Queen’s Royal Hussars (QRH) as their regimental mascot, known as the Drum Horse, after being prepared by the Triley Fields Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Abergavenny (www.trifec.com). The young horse has been named Alamein after one of the Regiment’s battle honours and will play centre stage during all future ceremonial occasions.

Triley Fields’ Centre Equine Manager, Beccy Field, said: “At 17.3 hands he is a large horse, but of a kind nature, very agile for his size and respectful of humans.

“We’re very pleased because he could not have gone to a better home and we are still kept informed of his progress. We are proud to have played a part in attaining the high standards expected by the British Army.”

The tradition of the Drum Horse dates back to the mid-eighteenth century. By command of King George II, the silver drums captured from the French by the Regiment at Dettingen are borne by a Drum Horse ridden by a Sergeant Kettledrummer - a custom still observed by the QRH today.

The new mascot has even been presented to the Duke of Edinburgh, the QRH’s Colonel-in-Chief, during a royal visit to the Regiment’s barracks in Sennelager, Germany. The horse’s groom, Lance Corporal Brent Evans, had the privilege of presenting the young horse to Prince Philip.

“He’s just like a child really. He’s only five years old, so he’s still young and wary,” said Lance Corporal Evans. “He’s fairly massive, he’s got very big hooves - and he likes fingers. He’s bitten me a couple of times, but we’re bonding alright.

“His main role will be to stand still on the parades, so all I do with him is take him around for a couple of walks around the yard. He will only get ridden on a parade.

“I’ll just be assisting the rider with getting the horse ready for parades. There’s an awful lot (of tack): there’s all the headgear, the drum kit, and we’ve also got the saddle.”