Goodnight, Sydney

We are devastated to announce the loss of beloved sponsor horse and Royal Mews retiree Sydney at the age of 28 years old.

Beautiful bay Sydney stood at 16.2 hands high with a striking stripe down the centre of his lovely face. He spent the majority of his life as part of the Royal Mews, pulling carriages at several high profile occasions as a ceremonial carriage horse. Day to day, Sydney would spend his time hitched up to his carriage, most often delivering post between the Palaces in London with his pal and fellow Mews horse Melbourne (pictured with Sydney above). Beyond this, Sydney took part in all major ceremonial State occasions over his years working for the Royal Mews including Royal Ascot, State Opening of Parliament, the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Royal wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales. He was so wonderful at his job that he also used to assist in the training of younger horses due to his calm temperament. He would give them a gentle introduction to the job as well as allowing new staff members to learn the ropes. He was an integral member of the Hack Set, where he was known to behave like an unbroken 5 year old when he got the grass under his hooves, especially at the annual Easter Court in Windsor!

True to form, when the time came for Sydney to retire here at The Horse Trust in 2018, he burst out of the lorry full of beans, keen to see all of the grass on offer across our rolling hills. Once out at pasture, he soon settled into retired life and made a firm friend in El Alamein, also known as Chicken, who retired in the same year as Sydney from the Defence Animal Training Regiment. This pair were near to inseparable after meeting and their bond was so heart-warming to watch develop over the years as they were such a sweet duo.

Unfortunately, Sydney developed an eye ulcer which he began treatment immediately for with our incredible veterinary team. Sadly, this ulcer did not respond as positively as hoped despite several routes of treatment being attempted and consultation with specialists. Considering that Sydney was also suffering from a cataract in his other eye and arthritis in several joints due to his age, which was all being managed by the team already, it was decided that the most ethical and kind decision was to let Sydney be at peace and put him to sleep.

We would like to thank all of Sydney’s kind sponsors who have supported his retirement over the years. This generous support of our Home of Rest allow us to give these equine heroes the amazing retirement they have truly earned. We will be keeping a close eye on lovely Chicken in the coming weeks after the loss of his best pal. Such a special personality, sweet Sydney will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Rest easy Sydney. HTx