Today is National Day of The Horse which has pulled to mind a poem from my childhood. At this time of year I could not wait until The London International Horse Show which was to be shown on the telly, I loved it, so today I have chosen a poem written especially for The Horse of the Year show and although it highlights the horse’s history with regard to England, I am sure the poem shall resonate much farther afield.

Photo by Nadia Armet

The Horse 

Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride,
friendship without envy, or beauty without vanity?
Here where grace is laced with muscle and strength by gentleness confined.

He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity.
There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent;
there is nothing so quick, nothing more patient.

England’s past has been borne on his back.
All our history is in his industry.
We are his heirs;
He is our inheritance.

By Ronald Duncan