Princess Royal to unveil bronze statue to Hyde Park bombing survivor Sefton

The Princess Royal is to unveil a life-size bronze statue of a horse who became a symbol of the struggle against the IRA after surviving the deadly 1982 Hyde Park bomb atrocity.
By The Newsroom
Published 16th Oct 2013, 01:01 BST
Artist Camilla Le May with ED the horse as they look at her sculpture of Sefton, at her studio in East Sussex.Artist Camilla Le May with ED the horse as they look at her sculpture of Sefton, at her studio in East Sussex.
Artist Camilla Le May with ED the horse as they look at her sculpture of Sefton, at her studio in East Sussex.

The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) commissioned the sculpture of Sefton, whose recovery from the blast which killed seven stablemates and four soldiers captured the nation’s hearts.

The college’s artist in residence, Camilla Le May, was handed the task of sculpting the black gelding and has created a three-quarters of a ton sculpture, showing him walking briskly.

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Anne, whose love of horses is well-known, will officially unveil the sculpture outside the college’s teaching and research centre in North Mymms, Hertfordshire, today.

Many people who knew and rode Sefton provided detailed briefings to help award-winning Ms Le May capture the horse’s character and spirit.

The 39-year-old, from Wadhurst, East Sussex, said: “He was by all accounts a strong character and quite a handful, especially in his youth. Perhaps it was partly this strength of character that helped him pull through his appalling injuries.”

The statue was commissioned to honour one of the RVC’s longest-serving senior academics, Professor Peter Lees, who retired in 2010. It was funded by RVC honorary fellow Lord Ballyedmond.

Related topics:Hyde ParkIRA