All the Queen's horses to go on show for Golden Jubilee

By Caroline Davies

AN equestrian extravaganza featuring 1,000 horses, a 2,000-cast and the magnificent Gold State Coach is to be staged in Windsor as part of celebrations for the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

"All the Queen's Horses", a 90-minute spectacular billed as 'more Broadway than horse show", will pay tribute to the Queen's lifelong interest in horses. The evening show, which will run during the 2002 Royal Windsor Horse Show on May 16, 17, and 18, will feature an orchestra, choir, dancers and lightshow, along with celebrities from showbusiness and the equestrian world.

Yesterday organisers promised a unique event against a Windsor Castle backdrop, funded by business at no cost to the taxpayer. Simon Brooks-Ward, the show's director, said: "It will not be a procession. Instead it will combine music and fashion from periods throughout the Queen's 50-year reign together with a celebration of equestrian achievement.

"There will be a constant stream of images on a giant screen, music from the orchestra and choir, rolling activity in various parts of the arena - highlighted by the lighting - and a script read by famous actors and celebrities."

The show's finale will recreate the 1953 coronation procession with the Gold State Coach - built by George III in 1762 - and its eight grey horses in harness, pulled on a special track to carry its four-ton weight. Tickets, priced between £30 and £75, will go on sale soon, and the BBC is to televise the event.