Hitch a Ride with the Olympic Heavy Horses

From 4th August, the historic and rare heavy horses that work in Richmond Park will be offering rides to the general public on Saturdays and Sundays.

The six horses; Murdoch the Flying Scotsman, Jim, Aragon, Royale II, Massey and Nobby are a regular feature of the park where they are employed to help manage its landscape – rolling bracken among other jobs that benefit from their low environmental footprint and ability to get into areas that are inaccessible for machines.

The horses have recently become Olympic celebrities, not for show jumping, but for mowing! To welcome visitors to the London Olympic Games, the horses have been used to mow five enormous Olympic rings into the grass in Richmond Park. The rings are visible from the air as visitors fly into land at Heathrow airport.

There is a serious side to all of this activity. Keeping the horses working and active helps to protect the future of the breed. They were once used on every farm to pull ploughs, in transportation to help tow barges along canals and for deliveries hauling wagons, drays, omnibuses and trams. As technology developed, the horses declined. Numbers fell from well over a million to just a few thousand by the 1960’s. A small number of breeders are helping to ensure they have a future both as working animals and as a riding horse.

Rides will be just £3/adult and £2/child and all ages are welcome. The horses will transport visitors in their drays up to popular sites in the park including Isabella Plantation and the Ballet School from the pick-up point in the Tercentenary Car Park.