Horse race in progress. Title superimposed. "A British Travel Association Film." Commentary by John Glen and Raymond Glendenning. American narration.
The race is the Lincoln Handicap. Camera follows the leading horses. M/S of side of young Queen Elizabeth looking extremely excited as her horse crosses the finishing post in first place. Top shot of the end of the race. Many spectators. High angle shot of Queen Elizabeth talking animatedly about the race - course visible in background. Low angle shot of horses landing after a jump (shot from right by the jump - a birds eye view) - a couple of the horses land badly. High angle camera follows the horses after a jump, two horses fall and jockeys roll off. The Queen inspects a jump. A man in an overcoat and bowler hat talks to the Queen about the jump. He pushes against the hedge with his foot. L/S of the Queen in front of a stable inspecting horses which are led past her. Voiceover describes the Queen's prowess and experience in matters horsey. Horses are exercised in a village square somewhere on the Downs. L/S of the horses being walked in a circle in front of a village church. Closer shots showing jockeys and horses. Camera pans across two horses being exercised in the countryside - they gallop past with jockeys on their backs. Three other horses are seen running ahead of them. Tattersall's (?) Bloodstock Sales - a horse is led around a paddock as potential buyers look on. Narrator talks of how an Indian maharaja would pay £30,000 for a 3 year old like Sire Jerao (sp?) Man in flat cap and short sleeves leads a horse towards the camera in a flowery meadow - this is the grounds of the National Stud. L/S of the stables. Horses are being led towards the main building. Closer shot of a man leading a horse and foal towards stables from behind. Several horses seen grazing in a field. C/U of young colt. Three young horses trot in the field. A group of men and a woman set off on a ride. Voiceover states: "If anyone tells you there are still wild horses roaming about in England, don't bet against it. There are." New Forest ponies in Hampshire seen grazing. Two men on horseback - one waves his crop (?) in the air. The ponies run as if startled. L/S of large number of ponies being rounded up. Lots of ponies run towards the camera. Close shot of them running past followed by the men who are rounding them up.
M/S of the ponies being driven down a path. High angle of a Scottish landscape. Scottish Highlands horse riding vacation. Horses are ridden on the top of a cliff. Low angle shot of a group of women riding horses up a hillside. Reverse angle from the top of the hill as women approach. Lyrical soundtrack. Top shot of the group riding in a line through the countryside. Gymkhana. Wide angle shot of jumping competition. Young woman rides grey horse over jumps. Crowds of spectators watch. Heather Reid rides Mistress Sponge (?) around a cross country track. Narrator quotes from Certes (?) "There is no secret so close as that between rider and his horse." C/U of a man in a flat cap making a note of her technique on a large piece of paper. Show jumping, firstly around a small course then at Windsor Royal Horse Show. Colonel Llewelyn and Foxhunter (sp?) are spoken of as heroes of the crowd. C/U of the well dressed crowd. Most stand although the front row have fold out seats that they probably brought with them. Mostly women, they smile at the camera.
Badminton Horse Trials. L/S of the home of the Duke of Beaufort - "Master of the Horse." People are gathered in the grounds and there are two refreshment tables close to the camera. A crowd of people are gathered to watch the event and cars are driven through the grounds of the house in the background. High angle shot of a Land Rover being driven by Prince Philip with the Queen in the passenger seat. "...they are there for fun just like all the other horse lovers. Horse jumping over a large tree trunk. Another rider crosses man-made jumps and ditches. M/S of the royal "box" which seems to be a rickety podium surrounded by a canvas sheet. Queen and Prince Philip are visible - he is winding up a clockwork cine camera. Another horse jumper is seen. Prince Philip lifts the camera to his eye as the Queen points to something offscreen. Shot of the royal couple standing in the box as Prince Philip films the scene. More shots of the course. A rider falls off. The Queen stands up and looks worried - as if to see if the rider is OK. Royal Ascot. Horses pull carriages along the track. M/S of the royal carriage being drawn through crowd lined approach to the race meeting. The crowd waves and cheers. Good shot of the Queen and Prince Philip in the carriage waving to the crowd. "It's a social event, it's a day out for toppers" says the voiceover.
High angle shot of large crowds. "It's a right royal occasion." Good top shot of section of the crowd, almost all wearing hats - mostly "toppers" (!) The royal party is seen walking on the course. Shot of the jockey name board "runners and riders board" including L. Piggott, J. Mercer, W. Carr etc. High angle shot of a race with crowds in the stands. Voiceover (with American accent) talks of the "chance to lose or make the honest English bob, half crown or quid." High angle shot of the race - Choirboy, the Queen's horse, wins. Cars speed past the camera on the way to Derby Day. C/U of the street sign for Epsom. High angle shot of the race track. Very, very crowded with people. Buses and marquees in the foreground. People standing on tops of buses. High angles of thousands of people, small fairground with a helter skeleter, various tents and marquees. M/S of crowds milling around. C/U of Rolls Royce on its way to the Derby. Good shot as the car passes by - two men in top hat and tails inside. Other cars drive to the track. An unusual open topped car passes close by camera. High angle shot of many buses lined up. Some buses are open topped with many people crowded on top. Tattenham Corner. Various shots of crowds. Royal car is driven along the race course.
We see the the royal cavalcade in long shot then the royal car in M/S - the Queen and Prince Philip wave to the crowds. Voiceover notes that Queen's favourite horse is racing today - Aureole. Pinza is also racing today with Gordon Richards as its jockey. Very high angle shot of the cavalcade and top shot of the royal car. M/S of the royal flag. Queen is greeted by Lord Roseberry and the Duke of Norfolk. We see them shake hands in L/S. Crowd watch from behind railings. Royal couple are led to their seats. Panning L/S of the crowd behind barriers. C/U of a side-show with a painted banner over the top saying "Grand Derby Race." It seems to be a "win a prize" game and the prizes are mostly ceramic animals. Skewed angle shots of the galloping horses ride as it revolves. Eel stall - man calls out to the crowd as he puts spoonfuls of jellied eels into small pots. Men stand around eating and smoking. C/U of the dish of eels and of a large man in a flat cap putting a spoonful of the eels in his mouth. Good sequence. Crowd of people stand around as a street entertainer performs his routine and his colleague cruises the crowd holding his hat out.
The entertainer lifts aloft a large wooden wheel. C/U of his legs and then the camera tilts up to reveal that he is balancing a bicycle on his forehead. C/U of a man playing an accordion - a traditional fairground type of music "The Happiest Time of the Year"(?) Another view of the accordion player with a monkey on his shoulder . The crowd behind him smile. A comedian dressed as a jockey does a routine as people stand and watch. C/U of a woman smiling - she wears a headscarf. A man in a strange white coat with black hood stands and shouts horse race statistics at the crowd. He is a tipster. Shots of the man are intercut with shots of the sceptical crowd, a young boy with his hands in his pockets and a black Labrador on a string lead. Prince Monolulu dressed in a beaded headpiece and embroidered smock shouts his catch phrase "I got a horse to beat the favourite" and talks of roast beef, two veg and Yorkshire Pudding.
One-man-band dressed in a top hat and army uniform with sleeves rolled up dances around and plays the drum and clarinet. One elderly woman in the audience dances, another laughs. C/U of his feet. Top shot of the totes. A man is "signalling the odds" above a sign which says Dick Ashton and has shield shaped pictures of the Queen, Princess Anne, Prince Charles and Prince Philip balanced on top. Union Jack flags fly from the shields. A man in an eccentric hat calls out odds. Elderly men and women look at the form in newspapers - C/Us of their faces as they concentrate. Union Jack flags fly above banners advertising various bookmakers including Joe Ashton and Joe Jarvis. Large crowds of people mill around. "They are much more dignified about it in the paddock." L/S of the paddock with most men wearing top hats and tails and the women very smartly dressed. Voiceover speaks of "owners and owners friends." C/U of three smartly dressed Arab (?) gentlemen wearing traditional head scarves. A Sikh gentleman and his family walk in the enclosure. A woman with a large white hat walks past the camera. Horses are walked around the paddock. The Queen shakes hands with her jockey Harry Carr to wish him luck. Another shot of horses in the paddock. We see the Queen and Prince Philip standing waiting for the race to begin amongst other smartly dressed people. The horses are led onto the course. Aureole is a little bit frisky and has to be controlled by the man who is leading him.
View of the stands. Crowds of people on the stands and below. Aureole is still behaving in a frisky fashion . His jockey Harry Carr and handler struggle to control him. C/U of the Queen and friends in the royal box - they look at notebooks or form books. M/S of Pinza being ridden by Gordon Richards. Top shot of the horses approaching the start of the race. C/U of a the face of a bookmaker from below shouting odds. He is wearing a silly hat - presumably based on jockey's colours.
C/U of tote board which shows all the horses and their odds. C/U of a flag which has a cartoon of the head of the Queen in the centre of a Union Jack. Low angle shot of a bookmaker frantically signalling odds with a small flag. He is smoking and has a large pair of binoculars around his neck. The horses approach the tape under starters orders. Princess Margaret looks through her binoculars. The tapes are lifted and the horses set off. Raymond Glendenning commentates on the race. We see various angles on the race and the following horses and jockeys are mentioned: Scipio and Don Castle, City Scandal, Empire Honey, Star of the Forest, Aureole, Aga Khan's Shikampur, Pinza, Good Brandy, Mountain King. Clear victory for Pinza. View of the royal party as they discuss the result. Top shot of Pinza being led into the winners paddock. The crowd applaud as the jockey dismounts. Queen smiles.
Top shot (unusual) of horse in the paddock surrounded by the crowd. Lots and lots of top hats seen from above. Queen talks to the jockey - she smiles broadly - and shakes his hand. Prince Philip also smiles at the jockey and shakes his hand, as does the Queen Mother. C/U of Pinza being led around the paddock. Narrator says: "They are a sporting people the British ...It doesn't matter all that much who wins or loses so long as they can say at the end 'that was a bit of fun.'
That's Britain, a sportsman's country." Panning shot of the stands, standing crowds and track.
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