The Pageant is a show quite literally fit for a queen.
Put on for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth herself, the annual evening spectacle crowns a weekend of elite competition at the Royal Windsor Horse Show every May. It’s a celebration of British history that combines theatre, music and, of course, horses—set against the stunning backdrop of Windsor Castle and staged by a BAFTA-award winning team.
In short, it’s glorious.
Like every sporting event right now, The Pageant is paused for this year. But, for the first time, the show will be aired for us all to enjoy. Horse Network and Virtual Windsor will be streaming the 2019 performance on Saturday at 2:30pm EDT—this may be your only chance to see The Pageant without crossing the Atlantic!
Here’s what to expect:
- Are you a Victorian era aficionado? Do you like Charles Dickens? How about a little Lord Tennyson? The Pageant celebrates the golden age of Queen Victoria by marking the 200th anniversary since her birth. There are snippets from Queen Victoria’s diaries, Gilbert and Sullivan and nods to the Industrial Revolution.
- The Dubai mounted police perform for the first time in the UK. They jump through fire. Enough said.
- You get to see the Puszta Five, an act from Hungary where one rider stands on two horses with three more in front. There are only 10 of these original Hungarian Csikos (horse herdsmen) in the world and six were at this show. One of them is the national champion in horse archery who fires arrows from a cantering horse at targets held up by his assistants. You’ll have to watch to see how the assistants fare.
- Back when Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was still making appearances as an official Royal, he was spotted at the 2019 Pageant—a mere five days after his son Archie was born. You know the show has to be pretty good if you’d go see it after staying up with a newborn all night.
