THEY are held in high esteem, and were among the stars of the Coronation of King Charles III. But now the Household Cavalry is hitting new heights – on rooftops overlooking London.

Photographic artist Ripley has created 12 large-scale portraits of the Life Guards, and the Blues and Royals, mounted on their magnificent horses high up on capital buildings.

They’ll be going on show in a new exhibition staged, aptly enough,  at the National Horseracing Museum, in the heart of Newmarket, from July 8 to July 30 this year.

The Squadron Leader of the Blues and Royals at Canary Wharf : Ripley

The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment: The Coronation Year Exhibition features extraordinary images of the soldiers in full uniform and their horses on buildings throughout London.

“I had an idea back in 2012 when photographing from rooftops in New York to do an art piece with horses placed on rooftops overlooking an urban landscape,” explains Ripley.

“I started to formulate ideas which would involve the Household Cavalry, portraying them as “protectors” – The Trusted Guardians – overlooking London.”

The Household Cavalry Band on Horse Guards Approach

The project took more than four years to complete, involving soldiers posing with their horses in full ceremonial dress, lots of behind-the-scenes work from the grooms and farriers, and between 200 to 300 hours of digital work on each image.

A boxed set of the portraits, overlooking the capital from Trafalgar Square to Canary Wharf, has been presented to King Charles III as the official Coronation Present from his Household Cavalry.

Limited-edition prints are available to purchase, with Ripley donating half of the profits from the exhibition to The Household Cavalry Foundation, a charity which supports members of the Household Cavalry family and the welfare of retired horses.

The Household Cavalry Band at Windsor Castle

To mark the occasion, the Band of the Household Cavalry will play a concert in the museum’s courtyard on the evening of July 14, performing classics, marches, fanfares and big band hits.

You can read more about the exhibition and concert on the museum website. The lead image on this post is The Drum Horse at the Life Guards at the Tate Modern by Ripley.

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