English: Pictured are HCMR troops lining up for ‘Pre-inspection’, prior to The Major General's Inspection.

After this dress rehearsal, The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment were put through their paces during their annual inspection by Major General Ben Bathurst the General Officer Commanding the Army in London and the Queen’s Household Troops.

The Queen’s mounted bodyguard parade in Hyde Park to prove their readiness for another busy summer of pageantry. After intense preparations that have involved hundreds of hours of training, honing physical and mental prowess of both horses and men.

The Major General's Inspection is the annual test of the regiment's ability to conduct state ceremonial duties for the year. During the parade more than 160 men and horses including the Household Cavalry Band with their magnificent Drum Horses, will trot and canter across the grass of Hyde Park in a display of military mounted precision. Many of the soldiers will be up for most of the night making final improvements to the mirror sheen of their silver cuirasses, Jack Boots, and grooming their horses for the parade. Excellence is hard won -a pair of Jack Boots can take more than 200 hours of polishing to bring up to parade standard. The horses came back from grass in late January and have had to undergo their own healthy eating and fitness regime to build muscle and agility for ceremonial duties fit for Her Majesty.

• Organization: Army
• Object Name: APOLOND-2017-026-HCMR Pre Inspection-0250
• Category: MOD
• Supplemental Categories: Horses, Animals, Army, People
• Keywords: Helmet, Headwear, Male, Soldiers, Non-Identifiable, Personnel, Horse, Animal, Clothing, Equipment, London, Location, HCMRD, The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, The Household Cavalry, Regiments, Army, Silver Cuirasses, Breast Plate , Jack Boots , Plumed Helmet , Occasion, Ceremonial
• Country: United Kingdom