A Tudor steed is looking its very best again after a 'makeover' at Carew Castle.

The wooden charger is very popular with young visitors to the medieval castle, which is run by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and has starred in countless events and displays over the years.

But stardom had taken its toll and the steed was in need of some TLC!

Helen Davies, education assistant and site guide at Carew, took up the challenge. She has given the steed a 'new look,' with new drapes and chain mail as befitting a tournament horse which would have been so much part of the Carew scene 500 years ago.

Said Helen: "We call it Sir Rhys' horse after Sir Rhys ap Thomas, the lord of Carew at the time of the Great Tournament in 1507. It is recorded that Sir Rhys rode out for the tournament with 100 mounted retainers in front and another 100 behind. It must have been a magnificent spectacle.

"The horse has been given a new coat in blue, Sir Rhys' own colour, and after some difficulty we came up with new chain mail - actually plastic netting sprayed silver. It looks very effective."

Carew has been home to the horse for several years. Originally it was a Welsh National Opera prop which went to a city farm in Cardiff before coming to new pastures in Pembrokeshire. It is a mechanical beast and the head moves and it gallops along - much to the delight of children who sit on it.

The steed will be in great demand when the site's schools programme re-starts after the holidays. Primary school pupils spend the day at Carew learning about Life in Tudor Times.

For further information on Carew Castle and the schools programme tel. 01646 561782.