Life's a beach - if you're a horse or rider from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

While many Britons have been heading off on holiday, the troopers and horses of the Household Cavalry Mounted Division have been doing the same – although they've been mixing work with play.

The soldiers and their mounts abandoned the paved areas of London, where they've been carrying out a number of ceremonial duties, for the sandy beach of Hayling Island.

And while it was a time to relax and unwind, it was also a time for horses and riders to learn new skills.

• Warrior misbehaving causes flashback to Iraq for Victoria Cross-holder Beharry
• Challenger 3 unleashed: Army's new battle tank goes on public display for first time
• The Grenadier Guards: Celebrating 370 years of pomp, ceremony – and fighting spirit

A just reward

"It's been a really long, really successful ceremonial period this year," explained the commanding officer of the HCMR, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin McNeil.

"And so we come down to our annual training for a three-week package with a mixture of military mounted skills and trying out some new things with the horses in a different role."

Lt Col McNeil stressed the importance of getting out onto the beach in glorious conditions to give both the horses and the service personnel a really good time.

Apart from allowing them the chance to unwind, the training camp provides horses and riders with a good opportunity to try out some new training techniques.

"The whole thing has been phenomenal in terms of the challenges and the different environments," Lt Col McNeil told BFBS Forces News.

"Putting horses in different contexts, they behave differently," he said.

"And some of these soldiers who have only known Knightsbridge and central London and now out in the woods and out on the beach and feeling a different environment and a different behaviour from the horses, it's really good."

Quirky steeds

One thing that became apparent was how different all of the horses are in the way they reacted to their time in Hampshire.

"Everyone has their own characters and they have good days and bad days," Lt Col McNeil pointed out, stressing how the soldiers would ride multiple horses at different times to get used to their quirks as they prepare for what will be undoubtedly be another very busy ceremonial season.

"We've got a little rest until the next state visit later in the year," said Lt Col McNeil.

"But at the same time these guys are preparing then to move across to Bulford [on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire] to our sister regiment and take on more of an armoured role.

"So it's a really challenging but really rewarding place at Knightsbridge and the days and weeks like this are really quite special."

Riding with feeling

His comments were echoed by Trooper Tom Powell, who said the trip to Hayling had been positive for the horses.

"It's incredibly beneficial to give them just some time out of the yard, out of regular work and just let them relax, have a gallop about and just not have to deal with city life in London," he said.

Tpr Powell said his horse had been keen to approach the sea – but then tried to drink the salty water.

"But I got her in for a swim and so she had a lovely time with that," he added.

Something else the soldiers got to do was ride bareback.

"It gives you a better understanding of how the horse is going to react," he explained. "For example, riding without a saddle is very different and allows you to get a much better feel of how the horse is moving.

"So it's a lot trickier to sit at it, but it just lets you feel what the horse is doing without anything in between, so like the leather trousers and the boots and things which give a lot of friction and make it a bit more difficult to feel what the horse is up to."