I Met The Queen Of England!
Well, I didn't exactly get to officially meet her, but back in April 1984, when Queen Elizabeth came to Kentucky for the first time, I was just a few feet away from her.
The Queen's trip was well planned out in advance, as royal trips are. She was scheduled to tour Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington and attend the races, where the first running of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes was to be held in her honor.
Keeneland is known for it's world class yearling sales as well as it's race meets, and Lexington is ground zero for the Thoroughbred breeding industry. I was working for Carl Nafzger in 1984, and the barn we were stabled in at Keeneland was right next to the yearling sales facility. Though there are no horse auctions in April, Keeneland wanted to put on a fake auction for the Queen. They asked Carl to help out by enlisting a couple of his horses to be led through the sales ring and be "auctioned".
Also, the Queen was to tour Carl's barn. Hours before her arrival, I remember seeing bomb sniffing dogs all over the place. I especially remember the dogs looking through the muck pits, which are areas between each set of barns where the grooms dump the dirty straw and horse manure from the horse's stalls.
When the Queen arrived, security people kept everyone at a distance except Carl and his wife Wanda. (I was about twenty feet away.) They were introduced to the Queen, and Carl showed her Star Choice, one of his best horses. Star Choice liked to bite people, I was hoping the Queen didn't get too close. She didn't. The fake auction went on a few minutes later, with a horse we had called Real Handsome as one of the ones being led through the ring.
That afternoon the Queen was at the races for the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. We had a filly in the race named Mr T's Tune. I was in the paddock before the race, about four feet away from the Queen at that point. Mr. T's Tune ran fourth.
I was curious about how the Queen's demeanor would be, and I have to say there wasn't much insight to glean. She was pleasant enough but very restrained. She smiled but did not laugh. She was cordial but not particularly warm. Her arm from which her purse hung stayed bent and never moved. I remember a lot of buzz going around beforehand as to whether people who met her should bow. We found out that bowing is only neccessary if you are a British subject.
The news came out last month that the Queen will be back in the U.S. to attend the Kentucky Derby! If I catch a glimpse, I 'll get some photos and report back to you on my observations. I have a feeling nothing much has changed with the Queen in the last 23 years, I suspect that purse will still be hanging from her unmoving arm. Wonder what she's got in it?