Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has become the first recipient of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of her leading role as supporter of equestrian sport throughout her reign as British monarch.

The award was presented to Her Majesty by FEI President HRH Princess Haya at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace on Nov. 26 in the presence of former FEI President the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Phillip and Keith Taylor, chairman of the British Equestrian Federation.

Horses featured in The Queen’s life from a very young age. She had her first riding lesson in the private riding school at Buckingham Palace Mews in January 1930, when she was just 3 years old and was given her first pony—a Shetland mare called Peggy—by her grandfather King George V on her fourth birthday.

One of The Queen’s favorite horses was the mare Burmese, a present from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1969 when they came to perform at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. The Queen rode Burmese side-saddle for 18 years at the Trooping the Color ceremony, which celebrates the Sovereign’s birthday. The President’s Trophy, presented by Prince Philip for many years to the winning country in the FEI Nations Cup series, was a bronze of the Queen and Burmese