Organisers of ancient race confirm they turned down invitation to take part in celebrations for fear they would become ‘puppets in an artificial show’

The traditions of the Palio have remained almost unchanged since the 17th century, from the ancient rivalries between the competing contrades to the medieval costumes of the pageant flag wavers.

But so sensitive are the guardians of Siena’s famed bareback horse race that they are apparently not willing to alter the spectacle for anyone – not even her majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

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The organisers of the Palio announced they have turned down an invitation to take part in the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations for fear they would become “puppets in an artificial, choreographed show”.

The event would have seen some of the horses and jockeys re-enacting the race, usually held in Siena’s Piazza Del Campo in the summer, at the three-day equestrian-themed celebrations at Windsor castle in April. The Queen is a well-known lover of horses.

However, the Palio’s governing body, the Magistrado delle Contrade, announced that they were to snub the invite for “organisational but also ethical” reasons.

Representatives of the ancient contrade, the wards of the city of Siena who protect the centuries-old traditions of the Palio, raised objections once they realised the limited time and space that would be offered to them at the birthday event. In particular, officials were unhappy that it would be impossible to recreate Siena’s iconic plaza.

An organiser said: “The theatre of the Palio is the piazza. Outside of that space it doesn’t make any sense.”

The Palio, which is held in July and August every year, sees 10 horses ridden bareback around the piazza three times. While each lap takes only about 90 seconds, the whole race usually takes around 80 or 90 minutes. However, the Palio riders were given a slot of just 15 minutes for their re-enactment as part of the Windsor celebrations, and so decided it would not do justice to the history and traditions of the event.

The former Siena mayor Roberto Barzanti also voiced his opposition, telling newspaper La Stampa that “the Contrade would never accept to be puppets in an artificial, choreographed show”.

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Current mayor, Bruno Valentini, was anxious to stress that the city had been flattered by the invitation and that there was no desire to snub the Queen on her birthday.

“If she would like to see the Palio she needs to come here. Perhaps she can even visit our museum dedicated to the contrade,” the mayor said. “We would formally like to invite her to Siena, where she can watch the event directly from the window of our town hall.”

Buckingham Palace said it had no comment on the matter. However Jo Peck, a spokesperson for the Queen’s 90th birthday celebration organisers, denied it was a controversial snub.

“We are organising an event involving hundreds of different equestrian events and horses, so we can’t give much time to all of them,” Peck explained. “We invited the Palio riders to come and take part but once we explained how the event would work, they felt it wasn’t something they could be involved in because of the limited time they would have.”

She added: “We understand and totally respect their decision, and it certainly wasn’t controversial. As far as we are concerned, it is a fine decision for them to make.”

The Palio was first held in its current form in 1656 and now attracts thousands of visitors to Tuscany every year, first in July and then again in August. In recent years, the volatile nature of the race has attracted opposition from animal rights campaigners, with almost 50 horses dying in the race since 1970.

