ALL IN A DAY’S WORK
Major John Baileff on sleeping under horse rugs, his bond with a special charger and the skill of training a gun horse
My earliest memory of horses is at a livery yard in Scotland, run by my granny.
I remember sitting on a hairy Welsh mountain pony, not enjoying it or being very good at it, while my sister was the shining light because she loved it. Granny wouldn’t have the heating on, but if we were cold, you could have a horse rug on your bed.
I was always going to go into the forces.
Mum was in the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Nursing Corps and Dad was in the Royal Navy. I went straight to Sandhurst after Cardiff University, then to Afghanistan for six months. I did a two-year posting with the Troop as the adjutant in 2017, learning to ride in six weeks, and loved it.
The King’s Troop comprises 160 soldiers and 130 to 140 military working horses.
I’m the custodian of the role for the next two years and responsible for making sure we are trained, fit and able to do our jobs, manage the accounts, ensure the horses are fed, exercised and cared for, plus procuring and rehoming horses, soldier training, development and postings. Every day is different. There are good parts, hard parts and exceptionally proud moments.
December was the Troop’s first time performing at London International in 15 years.
Watching them perform alongside the world’s best at what they do, and being considered the world’s best at what we do, will be something I tell my kids and grandkids about.
The retirement there of my former charger Yogi (Lord Firebrand) is a core memory. It’s incredible that one horse has changed the rehoming of military working horses – people knew you could rehome them, but didn’t know how you did it. The video H&H made with Yogi and me at London – where we talked about his life and how the retirement process works – changed that, as it got people asking the question.
One memorable moment was during the gallop-out at the end of the gun-drive at Royal Windsor.
I got the nod, the chute was clear, then as we hit the arch, Yogi stopped. The trumpeter went past me, then the first section commander and second trumpeter – all I could think was, “There’s a gun team next.” Cool as a cucumber, Yogi trotted off to the left to let the gun team fly past at 30mph.
Since Yogi’s retirement, I’ve clicked with a couple of horses.
One I’ve gelled with is Basil – Marmaduke Mulligrubs, to give him his formal name. We’re very much in the fledgling stages, but we’ll be leading The King’s birthday parade, the first time up front for both of us.
This year, we’ve done Royal Windsor and will be at Trooping the Colour,
“The 132 people I have the privilege of working with inspire me every day”
mounting the King’s Life Guard, and para
