This fascinating portrait of Prince Charles, horseman, pays tribute to the Prince's remarkable achievemants in some of the most demanding of all the equestrian sports - polo, cross-county riding, team chasing, and steeplechasing. These achievements are all the more extraordinary, says Michael Clayton, seen in the context of his many duties and responsibilities as Heir to the Throne.

Despite the strong tradition of riding in the family, Prince Charles did not take immediately to horses and was 'put off' jumping at an early age. He was thrteen when his father introduced him to polo. 'The whole idea of taking off scared me stiff in those days,' he says 'so when my father suggested I took up polo, I was all for it. At least you stayed on the ground.' Coached by Prince Philip and his uncle Lord Mountbatten, he rose to become one of this country's leading high-goal players and has played with considerable success all over the world.

At the age of twenty-seven, Prince Charles took up fox hunting, and has since hunted with no less than 45 packs all over the British Isles. In 1979 he began to make his name in the hazaedous and competitive new sport of team chasing, He was thirty-two when he took up the challenge of steeplechasing, but his adventures on the Turf were to end with the tragic death from heart failure of his much-loved horse Allibar, and two well-publicized falls. Today Prince Charles confines his enthusiasm to polo and hunting and remains a consummate horseman,