Her Majesty the Queens "RIO"

I was commissioned by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth  in 1979 to sculpt "Rio" her lead horse from the state coach. It was while I was with Clairmont fine china and we were at the East of England showground at Peterborough that her Majesty noticed my work on her visit there in 1979. The first commission she asked me to do was Mulgrave supreme, her hunter, it was a Cleveland bay and was based at her stables in Yorkshire. After  Mulgrave came "Rio" here illustrated, and this was a visit to the Buckingham palace mews where i got all the help and attention from Sir John Miller, the Queen;s equerry, and what a lovely chap he was, a real gentleman, no airs and graces, just a good human being. I collected many photographs and quick little pencil sketches, thank God for photography! for without it i would have been there for a week just sketching the detail on the harness! The third piece i put to-gether for Her Majesty, was Prince Philips Four- in - Hand, the team that he drives on the cross country events. That is a bronze, it is 4 feet in length on a Verde marble base. I am currently, patiently waiting for the next commission, lets hope its an oil portrait of the most "down- to - earth" couple i have met.