Statue of Queen Elizabeth II riding Burmese
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In honour of the 50th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the province of Saskatchewan commissioned Saskatchewan sculptor Susan Velder to create a larger-than-life-sized bronze statue of Her Majesty riding her favourite horse, Burmese.
The RCMP presented Burmese to Her Majesty in April 1969. The Queen rode the Canadian black mare in 18 consecutive birthday parades, and she was the only horse Her Majesty rode for Trooping the Colour.
The statue was unveiled by Her Majesty during Saskatchewan Centennial Celebrations in 2005 and is located north of the Legislative Building at the south base of the flower garden.
The province contributed to the cost of creating the Queen's Golden Jubilee Statue with a grant of $50,000 when the project was announced in 2001. Other major donors recognized today were the RCMP, City of Regina, Regina Public Library, Town of Maple Creek, Henry and Agatha Thalheimer, Jacqui Shumiatcher, Ray Frelich, Conexus Credit Union and Galen and Hilary Weston of Toronto.
With the province of Saskatchewan able to contribute to the statue project, it gives the people of the province a clearer vision of their history — a history in which the monarchy and the RCMP have played such a significant role.
During 2003, the Queen's Jubilee Year and the city of Regina's centennial, the statue was not yet complete. HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex visited in June for the centennial and turned the sod in the spot where the statue would be placed. The first miniature was also unveiled by the Earl of Wessex at this time and will be on permanent display at the Legislative Building. A miniature was also presented to the Queen in October 2004.
