Built the pauldron separate to the main model and used the mirror modifier to duplicate it on the other side. Tried the same thing with the couter, but the size and different angles of the arms ended up making it easier (relatively speaking) to add cuts and extrude. The hobby horse head was mostly built without the mirror, but then I decided to add an eye, and I ended up deleting half and mirroring to get the eyes the same on both sides.
Stats for this piece: 1,180 Tris, 516 Faces, 597 Verts
Just a fraction more than the Queen - which for a piece that’s kind of two pieces in one, I’m pretty happy with. In case anyone’s wondering, the hobby horse on its own is 250 Tris, 113 Faces, 127 Verts