2017 Queen Elizabeth Sports Predictions: Horse Racing, Dogs, Pigeons, Sports Awards

Will Queen Elizabeth fans get a chance to see her at sporting events in 2017, or will predictions favor a more somber future? Queen Elizabeth is getting older, and there are plenty of people preparing themselves for the news that she may one day die. Despite the fact that she was too sick on Christmas or New Year’s Day 2017 to attend church, Queen Elizabeth is not retiring and she is not dead.

In fact, some say that Queen Elizabeth is still full of life, and is still expected to have a partial calendar in 2017 — with some aspects of sports included.

An easy Queen Elizabeth sports prediction in 2017 is that she will be at events that focus on honoring athletes. On New Year’s Eve, a list from Queen Elizabeth was announced that contained all of the newly knighted athletes such as Lee Pearson, Andy Murray, and Mo Farah.

Sadly, Queen Elizabeth might have to cancel a lot of plans in 2017 if she is too sick. For example, Queen Elizabeth was too sick to attend Christmas church services in Sandringham, and she has been so sick over the past two weeks that Queen Elizabeth may not attend the New Year’s Day church service, according to Telegraph.

Despite getting sick on occasion and handing over some of her sports patronages in late December, it is easy to predict Queen Elizabeth will still have sports as a big part of her life in 2017 in key ways because she has always been a full-time sports fan.

For example, some might say that Queen Elizabeth is a pioneer of the “soccer mom” role, but with a British twist. The Royal Fans blog reports that Queen Elizabeth’s male heirs all tend to play one game that she is heavily involved with called rugby.

CNN reported that Queen Elizabeth only gave up her patronage for rugby when she was 90, and this proves she was likely a big fan of the sport. Currently, the rugby patronage duties will pass to Queen Elizabeth’s grandsons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

In fact, Queen Elizabeth might be obsessed with royal sports, but about a month before her coronation, Queen Elizabeth attended her first football/soccer match with the common Brit for the May 2, 1953, FA Cup final.

Nevertheless, the real sports that Queen Elizabeth especially likes are tennis and anything related to horses. Playing tennis or watching tennis matches might not be a regular sports prediction for Queen Elizabeth’s 2017 calendar, but it will be shocking if she misses major horse racing events like the Royal Ascot.

Even if she cannot attend the event in person, if Queen Elizabeth has one of her thoroughbred racehorses in a major race, it is highly likely she will be interested in hearing about the horse racing results in 2017.

As a matter of fact, The Guardian reports that on July 22, 2016, Queen Elizabeth’s horse Dartmouth prepared for elite horse races in the U.K. and the Queen was considered a pro in the horse breeding world.

This tradition of horse racing and horse sports is carried on in Queen Elizabeth’s immediate family, and her granddaughter, Zara Phillips Tindall, won at the 2012 Olympics for the equestrian/dressage events. Prince Harry is also known to play polo in charity events.

Regardless, it does appear that Queen Elizabeth could easily cancel any of these sports-related events in 2017 because she is 90 years old, and her health can be below par more often.

For this reason, it was no surprise to see in 2016 that Queen Elizabeth had decided her age was the right age to start handing over patronages — and some of them were sports-related.

For example, around December 21, Queen Elizabeth’s spokespeople confirmed to Associated Press that she would be “stepping down” as patron of about 25 organizations including ones related to sports such as the Lawn Tennis Association, the Rugby Football Union, the Welsh Rugby Union, the Rugby Football League, the Amateur Swimming Association, and the British Cycling Federation.

While this might have alarmed fans of Queen Elizabeth, it was pointed out by Reuters that her husband, Prince Philip, also automatically cut down on his patron schedule when he turned 90. In other words, Queen Elizabeth reducing her workload is more about tradition than a sign that she is too old to keep up with sports.

In addition, Queen Elizabeth has a lot of weird sports she participates in that rarely make headlines due to their oddity. While she might be cutting down on events outside of the home on occasion in 2017, sports predictions inside Buckingham Palace grounds could include dog training and garden walking for her crew of corgis.

Queen Elizabeth also has had a deep interest in training birds over the years, and it is easy to predict she could sit in the garden to engage with her prized birds in 2017. For example, Time wrote a brief biography of Queen Elizabeth, and they were quick to point out she continues a family tradition of racing pigeons.

The British royal family sport began in 1886, and Queen Elizabeth entered a bird named Sandringham Lightning at the premiere international Pau race in 1990. Queen Elizabeth’s pigeon won first place in the Section Fifth Open. Queen Elizabeth was also the patron of several pigeon racing associations.

Outside of horse racing, bird racing, tennis, and rugby as being part of any possible sports predictions for Queen Elizabeth in 2017, it is also likely she will spend a lot of time honoring sports people.

According to The Guardian, tennis star Andy Murray was knighted by Queen Elizabeth as well as another sports star named Mo Farah — a four-time gold medal winner for running events at the Olympics.

On December 31, it was also reported by the Paralympic Games website that Queen Elizabeth was making Lee Pearson into a knight, and he has won 11 gold medals for para-equestrian sports.

Over 10 other athletes were also being honored by Queen Elizabeth on New Year’s Eve 2016 with titles that were ranks below knighthood including Member of the British Empire (MBE), Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

In the end, it is clear that Queen Elizabeth might need a sick day on occasion because she is 90 years old, but as a true sports lover throughout her life, it is easy to predict in 2017 that Queen Elizabeth will have at least a few sports-related events in her forecast.

[Featured Image by Ben A. Pruchnie/Stringer/Getty Images]