Award for Service to Her Majesty’s Racing Establishment bestowed upon Monty Roberts
England (June 11, 2011) – LEGENDARY “Horse Whisperer” Monty Roberts, 76, was honored privately by the Queen for service to the Royal Family and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, for his service to the racing establishment.
The American trainer, whose gentle techniques are based on the silent language of horses, was made an honorary Member of the Royal Victorian Order. The Royal Victorian Order is given by the Queen to people who have served her or the monarchy in a personal way. In 1989, the Queen Mother was reduced to tears after Roberts managed to tame her wildest horse. Roberts has been involved with some aspects of the monarchy’s horses ever since.
Responding to the experience, Roberts said: “The ball is in my court now and it is my obligation to continue to earn the respect that my supporters have given me over this past 22 years since first meeting Her Majesty in 1989.”
In the early 1990s Roberts toured England at the behest of the Queen to demonstrate his methods. The novel The Horse Whisperer was being written in England during this time. In 1996, nearly simultaneously, Mr. Roberts’ autobiography The Man Who Listens to Horses and the novel The Horse Whisperer were published in England and immediately became bestsellers in non-fiction and fiction categories, respectively. Both books also became bestsellers in the United States the following year. Roberts’ autobiography remained on the bestsellers list for 58 weeks competing with books such as Angela’s Ashes, Tuesdays with Morrie as well as the many books published after Princess Diana’s sudden death.
Other award recipients: IVF pioneer Professor Robert Edwards, 85, was knighted eight months after being awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for his work that led to the birth of Louise Brown, the world’s first test-tube baby, in 1978.
Artist Sam Taylor-Wood, 44 – a Turner prize nominee who has won acclaim as a film director – was been given an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). She directed 2009’s hit film Nowhere Boy, which looks at John Lennon’s childhood up until he went to Germany with the Beatles.
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MONTY ROBERTS AVAILABLE FOR SELECT INTERVIEWS:
The New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned horse trainer Monty Roberts is available for interviews.
MONTY ROBERTS first gained widespread fame with the release of his New York Times Best Selling book, The Man Who Listens To Horses; a chronicle of his life and development of his non-violent horse training methods called Join-Up®. Monty grew up on a working horse farm as a firsthand witness to traditional, often violent methods of horse training and breaking the spirit with an abusive hand. Rejecting that, he went on to win nine world’s championships in the show ring. Today, Monty’s goal is to share his message that “Violence is never the answer.” Roberts has been encouraged by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as well as the ASPCA “Founders” award and the MSPCA George T. Angell Humanitarian Award. He is credited with launching the first of its kind Equus Online University; an interactive online lesson site that is already being considered the most effective educational tool for horsemen on the web.
Join-Up philosophies can be seen at work with both humans and horses across the world, from farms to major corporations. To learn more about Monty Roberts or the many applications of his Join-Up training methods, visit https://www.montyroberts.com . Horse Sense and Soldiers aired on Discovery Military highlighting the therapeutic effect that horses and Monty Roberts’ Join-Up® have on PTSD. Roberts has teamed with The Corporate Learning Institute to help transfer the key learning’s from his work to the workplace.
THE ROYAL VICTORIAN ORDER was founded in April 1896 by Queen Victoria as a way of rewarding personal service to her, on her own initiative rather than by ministerial recommendation. The Order was, and is, entirely within the Sovereign’s personal gift. The anniversary of the institution of the Order is in June on the day of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne. There have never been any limits on the number of appointments made. Today, people receive their award either privately from The Queen or another member of the Royal Family, or during an Investiture. Often, after a State Visit, the Queen will invest people in the country visited before returning to the United Kingdom. The Order is also conferred on foreigners, and it is often awarded by the Sovereign during official tours overseas.
The first foreigners to receive the Order were the Prefect of Alpes Maritimes and the Mayor of Nice, during Queen Victoria’s visit to the south of France in 1896. The Chapel of the Order is The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy, a ‘Royal peculiar’ which for historic reasons is in the private possession of the Sovereign in his or her right as the Duke of Lancaster. The service for those who have received awards is now held in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle every four years. Many members of the Royal Family who have themselves received the award are present, along with the many recipients, who include servants of The Queen who have served the Monarchy for many years.
Photos available upon request
