Marwari horses to perform in Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant

"This will be the first ever presence of Marwari horses in England and they will take part in bred display. They will demonstrate tent pegging and will be a part of cultural performances in the evening," Raghuvendra Singh Dundlod, Secretary General of Indigenous Horse Society of India, said here today.

The Marwari is a rare breed of horse from Rajasthan's Marwar region. Known for its inward-turning ear tips, they are used for riding, packing and light draught, and agricultural work.

Dundlod and Francesca Kelly, who also works for promotion of Marwari horses, have been invited with their team. Marwari horses will be an integral part of the Indian contingent.

"Since export of Marwari horses is not allowed from here now, we are making arrangements to send the Marwari horses from royal stables of Sultan of Oman (Suraj, Kajal, Laxmi and Shekha), Mirabai, Chamunda and Nazarullah from Mario Calcango of Spain and Dilraj from France," he said.

"It is unfortunate that we can not take the best Marwari horses from India to perform at this prestigious stage. What is more heart breaking is that neither the government of India nor the Rajasthan government has shown interest to support our team to participate in the show which is a good occasion for cultural exchange," Kelly said.

The Indian contingent will perform on A R Rahman's 'Jai Ho' and Raghu Dixit's 'Mysore se Aayi' and a dance choreographed with horse riders, tent-peggers, Kalbeliya dancers led by folk artist Gulabo and Krishna dancers from Brij Kala Mandal, Bharatpur.

Over 550 horses and more than 1,000 dancers, musicians, and performers from around the world will come together each night in a performance to pay tribute to 60 spectacular years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign.

The pageant is the first of five official events marking the Queen's 60 years on the throne and will take place in the private grounds of Windsor Castle on the evenings of 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th May. PTI SDA