Yogi Howe

In 1979Yogi Howe was serving as a Trooper in the Life Guards when a chance meeting with David Saunders, then Coachman to HRH The Duke of Edingburgh took him to Sandringham to join the Duke’s competition team of bay horses for winter training. From this, Yogi accompanied them to the 1982 World Four-in-Hand Championship in Holland.

Returning to the Household Cavalry he took over the post of head coachman, his duties including producing the Regimental coaching team to compete at County Shows, take dignitaries to Royal Ascot and perform displays around the country. At the same time he trained and produced the Household Cavalry four-in-hand team for Major Hugh Davies to compete in national and international carriage driving events and acted as his navigator on the cross-country marathon phase. Yogi also took the reins himself of a Household Cavalry team of horses at Bicton and Holker Hall National Driving Trials as well as at Windsor Park Equestrian club events.

On leaving the army in 1987 Yogi became a freelance coachman before taking over as head coachman for Harrods of Knightsbridge. In charge of a team of Friesians, he was responsible for delivering goods within a four-mile radius of the store. He also produced the horses for the show ring, winning light trade classes around the country, including the championships at Royal Windsor (three times) and at the BDS Annual Show at Smith’s Lawn. The store’s owner, Mr Al Fayed, asked him to put together ‘something special’ for the 1992 Royal Windsor Horse Show when Harrods began sponsoring The International Carriage Driving Grand Prix there. Rising to the challenge, Yogi put together and drove a seven-horse team of Friesian stallions, leading in the competitors for the prize-giving ceremony after each day of competition.

In 1993 Yogi joined Mr Alan Pugh, well known in the world of show driving in the UK, as coachman and trainer.  Alan had always taken an interest in coaching and in 1995 Yogi helped him and Robin Nicholls put together a coaching team of Hackneys and Gelderlanders which he drove in the coaching class at the Royal Windsor Horse Show that year. He also drove Alan’s pair of Hackneys to victory the same year in the Horse Pairs Private Driving Championships at the Windsor National Carriage Driving Championships.

It was after this that he was offered the job as Head Horseman of the Shire Horse Stables for HRH Prince Jeferi Bolkia in Brunei. Yogi had the responsibility of purchasing horses, harness and carriages and flying them to Brunei on a Russian Bomber. Once in Brunei, his training of the Shires including breaking them to ride so as to carry armoured knights to give displays each day before the Royal Polo matches at Jerudong Park Polo Club. He also broke them to harness, their duties including conveying the Royal Family and visiting VIPs around the park.