Windsor Horse Show Special Celebrations for Queen Elizabeth's 90th Birthday

There is no Tuesday Cuppa Tea link up this week, because this isn't a tea post, but I wanted to post about this...and I am preparing this post early, as we will be out of town for a few days and I have found out the hard way Blogger doesn't like iPads....

 The Queen’s 90^th birthday celebrations are being held next week to coincide with the annual Windsor Horse Show.  The Queen’s 90^th birthday was on April 21^st but special celebrations will take place at Home Park, Windsor between May 12^th and May 15^th 2016. This birthday show will feature 600 horses and 1500 performers, and there will be room for a crowd of 7,000 for each night’s performance, with the days filled with various coaching and equestrian competitions, often with world class contenders and Olympic hopefuls.

The special 90-minute show in the evening will pay tribute to many of the things that have been so important to The Queen throughout her life. It will feature horses and riders from Canada, New Zealand and Fiji among other countries and will include pipers and drummers according to press reports.

The Queen will attend the last night while others members of the Royal Family will be present on the other evenings. 

Simon Brooks-Ward, who will produce and direct the birthday show and who also runs the Windsor Horse Show, said that the particular event will ‘celebrate a truly remarkable life.’

The Queen is already the longest-lived British monarch having surpassed the record set by her great times two grandmother Queen Victoria, who was 81 years, seven months and 29 days old at the time of her death in 1901. And on September 9, 2015, The Queen surpassed another of her great, great grandmother’s claims to fame when she broke her record as the longest reigning British monarch...that's amazing!

There were no formal celebrations planned for that historic occasion on September 9th 2015, as the  Queen is usually at her Scottish retreat Balmoral at that time of year, but she commented that the title was:

"Not one to which I have ever aspired. Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones - 

my own is no exception - 

but I thank you all and the many others at home and overseas 

for your touching messages of great kindness." 

In  May of 2016 there will be plenty of festivities to mark yet another significant moment in an already historic reign. 

And,  fittingly, this special birthday version of the Royal Windsor Horse Show will be centered around Queen’s lifelong passion for horses, which is at it should be...everyone should get to spend their birthday just how they want to, after all.

Last year, someone you might recognize, gave the prizes in some of the pony classes....Matin Clunes from Doc Martin!  And the Queen was relaxed and in her everyday clothes during the day...

Only a British horse-loving Queen would wear her wellies! Well done, Ma'am!

Photos are from The Telegraph.co.uk or Google images. This is a needlepoint pillow I found on Pinterest, but hoped to have a link for you crafty needlepointers, but couldn't find it...sigh. Thanks for joining me, and have a great week. There is no linky, as this really isn't a tea link up, but I'll have one back up next week!