Sunday 29 / September / 2024
Edinburgh: Oman’s Royal Cavalry will now occupy a special place in the hearts of the representatives of the 11 countries who were present at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
The military music festival brings the best martial bands from around the world, and although other branches of the Omani Armed Forces have flown the flag for the Sultanate in the tattoo, which began in 1947, this is the first time the Royal Cavalry have represented the country.
Oman was represented by an all-female mounted military marching band – possibly the only one in the world – and the only mounted contingent at this year’s tattoo.
“There is a very special place in our hearts for Oman, as a result of which all military officers in the UK have personal friends among officers in the Omani defence forces, and this endeavour to bring the Royal Cavalry here began some four and a half years ago,” said Brigadier David Allfrey, Chief Executive and Producer of this year’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
“Out of that idea came a series of diplomatic overtures between the two countries and it was agreed that the Royal Cavalry would represent Oman at this season’s tattoo, along with an all-female military band – which sends a tremendous message of what people are capable of, along with 30 horses, and three drum horses, named Sam, Tom and Joe.”
“They are fantastic animals, as are the 27 Arabian horses, each with their own mounted piper,” he added. “So not only did Oman come with its own pipes and drums band, it came with what I think is the only mounted pipes and drums band in the world and that is fantastic.”
The theme this year was “the sky is the limit” and this theme was designed to celebrate the Royal Air Force, but it was also the year of young people here in Scotland. “We decided to shape the theme around the idea of manned flight, so we would begin with birds and insects, and go on to gliders and balloons and kites, and then to propeller airplanes, jet aircraft and finally, space travel,” said Allfrey.
“The theme we asked the Royal Cavalry of Oman to follow was the night sky, because when I was in Oman, I was in the desert for one night and I was struck by how wide the sky was. Oman has the most brilliant night sky, from horizon to horizon.”
“I asked them to do a piece that ended up with us imagining that we were looking up at the night sky,” he added. “They did that really well indeed, with the procession and the music, but what was really special about this collaboration was how easy and warm and wonderful the Omani soldiers and their horses were.” Like many others at the tattoo, Allfrey too had nothing but praise for the Omani representatives.
“It was a complete pleasure to be with them,” he added. “They are very professional, very creative and an absolute pleasure to be around. I have visited all the Gulf countries now for a short time. What you get in Oman when you visit there is a tremendous sense of warmth and hospitality, and this is special, because you get a sense of it the moment you get off an aeroplane in Muscat. The sense of how people interact with you among the clans and villages and up on the mountains is great.” “I have two great memories of my time in Oman: one was fishing with some men and boys with hand-drawn fishing lines on the road that runs along the edge of the harbour,” said the brigadier. “I found myself sitting on the wall, sharing a coffee and fishing. That was a great experience. I was also looked after very well by a mountain herder up in the Jabal, who tended to sheep and goats and other animals.”
“Between all of the officers and the pipe bands, I met some senior people as well, and everyone was so welcoming and elegant,” added Allfrey. “Everyone in Oman has an elegance about them which is special. I am happy to say that all of these feelings that I had during my individual journey to Oman, were experienced by all the people in Edinburgh, whether they came from Scotland, from America, Switzerland, Canada, the Czech Republic, or all of the many countries that were represented on our show, had nothing but good words to say.”
