§ Mr. MarlowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will give his estimate of the amount of duty-time spent by those Household Cavalry officers who participate regularly in hunting and polo in duty time on those activities;
(2) if he will give an estimate of the proportion of duty-time spent hunting and playing polo by soldiers in the Household Cavalry, as divided between officers and men.
§ Mr. FreemanThe amount of time spent by officers and soldiers of the Household Cavalry on each of their many and varied duties is not separately recorded. Hunting may be included as part of training in equestrian skills. Polo, as a mounted sport, also has undoubted equestrian training value, but although certain fixtures may be played within duty time, this sport is regarded principally as a recreational activity. Neither hunting nor polo is pursued in duty time to the detriment of any other more pressing military task.