It was a proud, if slightly sad day, when the Dyfed Shire Horse Farm bade a fond farewell to one of its ‘gentle giants’ recently.

For ‘Willa Rose’, a magnificent eight-year-old mare, is all set to make equine history as the first ever female horse to become a drum horse in the the Queen’s Houshold Cavalry.

Willa Rose was born on the farm in Eglwyswrw in May 2013, the fourth generation of the Dyfed shire bloodline begun by the family patriarch, John Rees Lewis, 40 years ago.

The family have been on the farm since 1849 and the Shires worked the land up into the 1960s.

Willa Rose, standing at over 18.2hh and weighing almost a metric tonne, will follow in the footsteps of her Uncle Celt who is better known now as Major Mercury, the senior drum horse in the Household Cavalry and who left Eglwsywrw in 2008. She will also meet again with her old farm friend ‘Ed’ who is currently in drum horse training having been sold to the Army in late 2019.

Farm owner Huw Murphy said: “We’re proud as a small, family farm in Pembrokeshire to have sold our third horse to the Household Cavalry.

“Willa Rose is the definition of the old adage, the ‘Gentle Giant’ with a quiet temperament and nature which she has developed on the farm of her birth, meeting visitors daily and being harnessed and undertaking the horse and carriage ride regularly.

Mark Cole, also of the farm and formerly of Hungerford Farm, Loveston, added: “If any mare could break the glass-ceiling and become the first in history to go on parade as a drum horse, it’s Willa Rose. As a family and community, we are all proud of her and look forward to watching her progress in the safe and capable hands of the Army in London.

“When her service for Queen and country is complete, we look forward to welcoming her back to the farm to retire on the same ground where her story began.”