A REAL life romance brought an unexpected glow to this year's Horseride in the Great Park.

Almost 650 riders completed the nine mile course at Windsor Lions annual fundraising event, making an anticipated £40,000 for charities and good causes.

The event was marked by a romantic interlude as one of the riders Ben Pinion proposed marriage on his bended knee to his lovely partner Zoe Griffiths in the glorious surroundings of the Long Walk.

She said 'yes' amid floods of tears, telling friends 'I can’t believe my lovely boyfriend Ben proposed to me – and in such incredible surroundings of The Long Walk, Windsor Great Park. I had no idea it was going to happen and am over the moon'.

Event organizer Lion Mark Fraser said: “The weather was just right, dry and warm but not too hot and once again the Great Park looked spectacular and all our riders and their horses had the most glorious time.

"The feedback we have had from them this year has been particularly amazing – we added some refinements like new fences and rider bibs and introduced a new registration process which all went down particularly well. We try hard to make the ride work well for our riders – their enjoyment makes it fun for all of us.”

The Lions will now decide the charities and good causes to benefit from the money raised. An awards evening will be held in January for riders who have had a particularly successful event.

The ride was sponsored by the Shanly Foundation.