Queen Camilla Feeds Polo Mints to Queen Elizabeth's Fell Pony at Brixton Riding Club
Queen Camilla fed polo mints to a 17-year-old fell pony named Taylor during a visit to Ebony Riding Club in Brixton, south London, on 3 September 2026 — reconnecting with a horse that once escorted the late Queen Elizabeth II on her daily rides. Hello! Magazine
Camilla has been President of the riding club since 2009 and opened its current centre 25 years before this visit. The charity, also known as Ebony Horse Club, teaches horse riding skills to disadvantaged young people at its Brixton base and provides over 1,700 rides to more than 110 riders each week. Hello! Magazine, royal.uk
Taylor, a black fell pony mare, previously walked alongside Queen Elizabeth and her own fell pony Emma during daily outings at Windsor, accompanied by head groom Terry Pendry. Earlier this summer, Taylor moved from the Royal Mews — the department of the royal household responsible for providing road transport for the monarch — to the Brixton charity. She was joined by a former carriage horse named Margate, known as Maggie, a Cleveland Bay bred at Hampton Court and raised to pull carriages. Maggie worked at the Royal Mews until after the Coronation and was loaned to the riding club after an injury left her unable to continue carriage work, following a three-year break. Hello! Magazine
During the visit, Camilla met year six pupils from Corpus Christi Primary School in Brixton Hill who take part in the club's schools' programme. She also presented trophies after a riding demonstration: Adam Bentallah, 12, who rode Taylor, and Isaiah Clayton, 16, who rode Maggie. The visit celebrated the Equicentric Futures project, led by the Association of British Riding Schools. Hello! Magazine
Camilla wore a white animal-print dress by Fiona Clare for the engagement. The British Monarchy's official social media channels had previously marked 30 years of the Ebony Horse Club in May 2026, publishing a video of the Queen meeting young riders and staff at the charity's Brixton centre. Camilla had also brought Queen Elizabeth II to visit the club in 2013. Hello! Magazine, The British Monarchy (Facebook), The Royal Family (Instagram)
What gives the visit its quiet charge is the continuity. A pony that once walked beside one Queen at Windsor now carries children through their first riding lessons in south London — placed there, on loan, by the household that cared for her. The ceremony of a royal visit is one thing; the paperwork of a horse loan between the Royal Mews and a charity is another, and it is the latter that put Taylor and Maggie in a Brixton school for a 12-year-old to ride.
