ALTON Convent School pupil Poppy Foster and her pony Shoormal Veev enjoyed an experience of a lifetime when they were chosen as one of only six jockeys and ponies from across the UK to perform as part of the Queen’s 90th birthday celebration at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

It follows a rollercoaster spell which culminated in Poppy and her pony winning the Shetland Pony Grand National during the London International Horse Show at Olympia in December.

It was after that, at a training day, that 12-year-old Poppy, who lives in Whitehill, was told she had been selected to perform at the Queen’s 90th birthday celebration.

The event, which took place in the private grounds of Windsor Castle during the Royal Windsor Horse Show from May 10-14, was designed as a celebration of the Queen’s life, her love of horses, her dedication to the Commonwealth and international affairs, and her deep involvement with the armed forces.

Over 90 minutes, 900 horses and more than 1,500 participants from around the world created a joyful event for the monarch – and Poppy was part of it.

Known as HMQ90, the event not only involved the jockeys and ponies performing their Shetland Pony Grand National as part the show, but the young riders took part in the finale where they sang and danced around a giant birthday cake and joined the military in saluting the Queen and wishing her a happy birthday.

The week began with rehearsals and a Shetland pony race at Windsor racecourse which was made into a short film and presented to the Queen by The Jockey Club as a birthday gift.

The horses, riders and celebrities for HMQ90 were all accommodated in the grounds of Windsor Castle where a “global village” had been built for the participants, some of whom had travelled from as far afield as Canada, Chile and New Zealand.

The Queen herself visited and was introduced to Poppy and the other Shetland jockeys while they were having lunch.

After three days of intense rehearsals, a night of torrential rain caused such severe flooding in Windsor Great Park that the following evening’s dress rehearsal was called off.

A tour of Windsor Castle was organised for the jockeys instead and that evening a huge party was thrown in the global village to lift everybody’s spirits.

Fortunately a spell of sunny weather dried up the ground, along with an incredible effort by the grounds staff, and the following day the first of four royal performances took place with the final performance on the Sunday night attended by the Queen and televised live to the nation.

Back at school, an excited Poppy said: “I only found out two months ago at the annual Shetland pony training day. I knew then it was a really big honour to perform for the Queen.

“When I came out into the arena the atmosphere was amazing, but it was the lights and the cameras that surprised me. The whole week was really cool and very professional. I loved it.”