With the exception of a short spell in Egypt in 1801, the regiment did not see active service again until it was sent to Portugal in April 1811, where it joined the Peninsular War campaign. In August, one of its squadrons was forced to take cover in an orchard at San Martín de Trevejo in Spain, an incident that may have been the derivation of its nickname, the "Cherry Pickers". It fought at Badajoz in April 1812 and the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812 before returning to Britain. During the campaign of 1815, it was part of Vandeleur's 4th Cavalry Brigade, fighting at Quatre Bras and Waterloo.