Major Richard Waygood MBE
Richard has ridden from an early age. At 16 he realised an ambition to join the
Household Cavalry (The Life Guards). After years of hard work and dedication he
was commissioned from the ranks to hold the highly prestigious and respected post of
Riding Master for the Household Cavalry. In 2002 he realised another life long
ambition to ride around Badminton not only did he finish but he was in the money as
well. He was the first serving officer of the British Army to compete at Badminton
for 23 years. Richard has competed a further three times at Badminton. Richard also
rode and competed on a private basis for Her Majesty, The Queen for a period of 15
years. In 2009 he was awarded an M.B.E. for outstanding services to both the military
and the civilian equestrian world.
He has had a busy and varied schedule, not only was he the Riding Master for the
Household Cavalry, an all encompassing and varied role, from ceremonial duties such
as the State Opening of Parliament to choreographing and running the world famous
Household Cavalry Musical Ride performing all over the world from the Horse of the
Year Show to the frozen lake at St.Moritz. He is also a top Event Rider a British
Eventing accredited coach, he holds the BHS award of merit and is the Chef d’Equipe
for the Two Star European Eventing Championships and was recently nominated for
the Queens Award for outstanding contribution to the equine world. To give an idea
of the wide range of riding experiences Richard has the Horse and Hound held a
competition of 30 things you must do on a horse before you die. Richard at the time
was runner up to Alice Plunket (Channel 4 Racing correspondent) and beat Lord
Oaksley into third spot. He is now in the lead as he has galloped with wildebeest and
ridden on the frozen lake at ST Moritz.
Richard has embarked on various new projects with gusto since retiring from the
army, these involve many varied activities. He coaches and trains many riders up to
International level and holds clinics all over the world he manages and trains the 2
Star British Eventing Team and he is the Chef d Equipe for the British Dressage
Team. 2011 was a record breaking year as both of Richards Team won their
respective European Championships for the first time in the sports history. Richard
lead Great Britain’s Dressage Team at the Olympics where they won not only the
team gold but the individual gold and individual bronze. This has truly been a
historical year! Richard is the Assistant Director of the British Military Tournament,
December 2010 saw the first running of the Tournament which sold over 50,000
tickets and made a sum in excess of £320,000 for charity. He still competes
internationally in 3 day events and takes small groups on Riding Safaris to various
locations around the world.
Richard is an Ambassador for the Brooke Charity having visited their field work in
Ethiopia and made a short documentary in India. He has several other equestrian
projects on the go in various countries such as Spain, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Qatar,
Suadi Arabia and Germany. He is asked on a regular basis to carry out motivational
and leadership talks using his all encompassing career and many experiences in
different leadership environments.