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Queen’s cortege: Riders near Peterculter pay tribute on horseback as the Queen’s coffin passes

Riders from the Old Milltimber Farm Livery stood and saluted the coffin as it passed. Picture by Andrew Wilkie.
Riders from the Old Milltimber Farm Livery stood and saluted the coffin as it passed. Picture by Andrew Wilkie.

Riders near Peterculter “stood for all equestrians” as the Queen’s coffin passed by on its way from Balmoral to Edinburgh.

A group of riders from Old Milltimber Farm Livery gathered in a field overlooking the route the Queen’s cortege took as journeyed through Deeside.

Organised by Victoria-Jane Shirriffs, 12 riders, including six-year-old Eilidh Scott on a Shetland pony, saluted the Queen’s coffin as it passed.

Mrs Shirriffs wanted to organise a fitting tribute to the Queen – a keen equestrian herself – who was known to frequently ride horses at Balmoral.

Six-year-old Eilidh Scott on her Shetland pony paying tribute to the Queen as the cortege passed by. Picture by Laurie Smith

The riders were already preparing for a show in the afternoon, but Mrs Shirriffs sent out a message inviting them to join her in paying tribute to the Queen.

She said: “I suggested we go up into one of our fields along the fence line that overlooks the road where the Queen’s coffin would be passing, dressed in black with our horses and pay our respects to the Queen, as a fellow equestrian.

‘Stood for all equestrians’

“As the Queen passed by we did a salute, right hand down, head down, head up and then hand back on the reins, so that was our tribute, as we knew how much the Queen loved her horses.

It was a “fitting” tribute from the riders as they “stood for all equestrians” across the country.

The Queen’s cortege passed through several Deeside towns as it made its way down to Edinburgh. Picture supplied by Victoria-Jane Shirriffs

Mrs Shirriffs recalled the horses behaved very well given the noise from the helicopter overhead, capturing the moment the cortege passed their location.

Even though there was noise from the cortege and accompanying vehicles and aircraft, Mrs Shirriffs said it was “incredibly quiet and sombre”.

She said none of the riders had met the Queen before, and it was sad this was the moment they did, but say they will remember it forever.

The riders thought it was a “fitting” tribute as the Queen was a keen rider herself. Picture by Andrew Wilkie

She said: “We will never forget that moment, It will stay with us. We stood for every equestrian out there, not just ourselves, that I know would have loved to have stood with us.”

Since the footage of their unique tribute surfaced online, Mrs Shirriffs said she has been inundated with messages thanking them for their moving tribute.

The Queen’s coffin made the 175-mile journey down to Edinburgh, where it will lie in state at the Palace of Holyroodhouse overnight before being taken down the Royal Mile to St Gile’s Cathedral.

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