Sefton (horse)

Sefton was a horse who served in the British Army from 1967 to 1984 . It became immensely famous in the UK for surviving the July 20, 1982 bombing in Hyde Park and Regent's Park that killed seven horses and four soldiers. The seriously injured horse was voted Horse of the Year after its recovery and was subsequently invited to several BBC television programs with its rider.

Horse life

The Irish horse Sefton was used at the British Army's riding school from 1967 and was transferred to the Household Cavalry regiment in London in 1975 , which is there to protect Queen Elizabeth II and also guards Buckingham Palace . Sefton was had white markings on his head and feet, but he was accepted, although the regiment normally only accepts all-black horses into its service.

On July 20, 1982 at 10:43 a.m., a nail-filled thin-walled explosive bomb placed by the IRA exploded in an automobile as soldiers of the regiment and 16 horses made their way to Buckingham on the changing of the guard that morning on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park Palace moved. The bomb exploded in the immediate vicinity of the cavalry train, killing four soldiers. All other soldiers and numerous tourists were injured. The bomb killed seven horses and seriously injured eight, including Sefton.

Sefton's jugular vein and right eye were injured; the horse had 34 wounds on its body. His injured rider Michael Pederson couldn't do anything for Sefton at first, but another soldier, who had rushed out of the Household Cavalry building to help, took his T-shirt and pressed it to the bleeding wounds.

The horse had suffered shock and extensive blood loss, with shrapnel and nails stuck in some wounds ; After treating the wound, the veterinarian gave the horse a 50:50 chance of survival. During the recovery period, the population took an interest in the horse's fate, sent numerous recovery cards and donated £ 100,000 to rebuild the wing of the Royal Veterinary College , which was named Sefton Surgical Wing and was inaugurated by Princess Anne .

Sefton returned to the regiment with his eye sewn and refused to pass the site of the explosion. Upon his return, Sefton was voted Horse of the Year and when Pederson got back into the saddle on Sefton, the population was happy to take note.

Since Sefton became irreparably paralyzed as a result of his injuries, he was taken to the Home of Rest For Horses near Speen in Buckinghamshire on August 29, 1984 . There he stayed with Echo and Yeti, two other horses that had survived the attack until he died on July 9, 1993 at the age of 30.

Sefton was one of the first horses to be elected to the Horse Hall of Fame by British equestrians of the British Horse Society . An annual horse competition was named after Sefton. As a reminder of Sefton and his will to survive, a bronze statue was to be unveiled in the spring of 2013 on the grounds of the veterinary clinic in Hatfield.