One has to hand it to Queen Elizabeth. For the record, I don’t generally heap praise on the royals. They seem to garner sufficient notice, anyway. (That, of course, is noted with tongue in cheek.)

To her credit, however, the 93 year old Queen makes her way out to the stables at Windsor Castle and gets in a ride from time to time. Good for her, at that tender age.

In past years, our local equestrian association has tied itself in knots over the wearing of riding helmets. Indeed, doing so is in our rules. Notably, some members won’t participate in events where those rules are followed.

Be it noted that the Queen will have none of it ! She is, after all, a privileged character! Or, is it possible that she has a harder head than most of us ? That doesn’t matter. At Windsor Castle, what the Queen says goes.

We serfs, in the meantime, still follow the rules… some of us, anyway.

As usual, I find myself not writing about what I intended to write about. Intriguing to contemplate, though. Just why do the British maintain the royalty tradition ?

It surely makes for a splendid show. It does singularly set apart England like no other country in the world. It is an embellishment beyond any other. Perhaps it is the English national vicarious experience . I’ve never really touched on the topic with a native.

I wonder if the British look at it with a collective sigh. Surely they’re not all heading to work this morning fraught with concern for the welfare of all who are castle bound !

Separately, my wife follows the correspondence of an international association of women that calls themselves Ageless In The Saddle. Their goal is quite as it sounds, rendering moral support to women who continue to ride regardless of advancing years.

Wouldn’t it be miraculous if these sisters arrived at some bionic formula that rendered an actual reversal of aging linked to their continued presence in the saddle?

We’d never see them again! Talk about one hellaciously long trail ride ! They’d make Lewis and Clark’s expedition look like a wee trot in the park.