Flashback

Tessa Martin-bird’s canters with Princess Anne

THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN when I was 12. I’m being awarded the Challenge Cup by Princess Anne at the Royal Windsor Horse Show for the pairs of children’s ponies class. I’m on my horse, Hurtwood Lucinda, but you can only just see me as I’m behind my older sister, Angela, who is on Arden Dawn.

My sister and I loved riding our ponies at Windsor, with the castle in the background. It was one of the leading shows in the equestrian calendar. I remember that was a lovely sunny day, as you can tell from Princess Anne’s dress, although it was often pouring with rain.

The atmosphere was remarkable. There were food stalls and huge crowds, with everyone moving towards the main ring for the final judging. We had a little chat with Princess Anne that day and thanked her for giving us the cup. Our grandmother, who lived close by, came along once we’d finished riding, and brought us a picnic in a Fortnum & Mason hamper. After the show she took us to the castle to see Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House.

Over the years, we had a huge number of wins and were presented with various trophies by the Queen. In fact, the following year, Angela and I won our class and the Queen, Princess Anne and the Duke of Beaufort were all there. It was always a great honour to have the prizes presented by members of the Royal family, but in the early days we all thought it was normal and were never nervous.

Angela and I went on to have very successful careers in eventing and had an unbeaten record after winning all the London shows – the Royal Windsor, the Royal Richmond and the Royal International – in the same year.

Princess Anne was also a fantastic eventer and our paths have crossed quite frequently – we have even competed against each other on occasion.

Twice Blue Peter mounted an appeal where they raised money for RDA [Riding for the Disabled] ponies. The first Blue Peter pony was called Rags and the second, Jet. Princess Anne was the president of RDA, so she was heavily involved with the ponies. I trained Rags and Jet, and Princess Anne would be the first to ride them, so she was confident that I had done a good job. Once Princess Anne came to my yard, where I kept the ponies, so we could be filmed for Blue Peter.

The last time we met was at the British Horse Society awards ceremony in 2016. The Princess Royal was receiving the Queen’s Award from her mother, while I was given one for 40 years of service to education. We had an amusing chat that evening, discussing our eventing days, but funnily enough I still haven’t reminded her that she gave us the Challenge Cup all those years ago. — Interview by Jessica Carpani

The Royal Windsor Horse Show runs from Wednesday to 13 May. Tickets can be bought online at rwhs.co.uk or by calling 0844-581 4960

Princess Anne was a fantastic eventer – we even competed against each other

An 11-year-old Princess Anne presents Tessa Martin-bird and her sister, Angela, with the Challenge Cup