Friday was the main day for the Common Riding here in Hawick.....we were in town to watch the horses leave at 8.30am through the vennel at the Tower Knowe. Only Men and boysvare allowed to ride on Friday, women and girls are allowed to ride on Saturday. My DH counted 324 horses with his sheep counter/clicker......here they are leaving to ride in procession around the town before heading off up to the Nipknowes....
On there way to 'the hut' the riders 'chase' up the Nipknowes, Acting Father and married men first then The Cornet, single men and boys follow....here's a short segment when the 324 horses came thundering by....fantastic sight....
After the traditional songs and speeches at the hut the horses and riders ride the boundaries and cut the sod before arriving at 'The Mair'' and all ride a circuit of the race track.
There's children racing and horse racing.... and eating and drinking....
The youngsters can earn a bit of money being 'a hodder' while the riders take a break for three or four hours. On a day like this it's not a difficult job....can you see how difficult this is....you have to lie down in the grass to do it....lol...
On the return to town, The Cornet visits the cobble pool to dip the flag in the river..........that's a potted version of the day....lots more going on besides. All this celebrating and fun, how could it be any better on a day like this? Check back next year to see how much more fun can be had to celebrate 500 years of Hawick Common Riding?
OMG that is a lot of horses....
ReplyDeleteLove seeing your family and the horses! Thanks so much for sharing, I look forward to seeing more. And yes, a hodder is a very difficult job, sometimes your hand even gets sore holding the reins and the strain causes a body to lay down. Very common. :-) Lol!
ReplyDeleteAmazing!!
ReplyDeleteThat must take a lot of planning! That many riders and horses. Loved the videos, too. Are all of the horses and riders local or do they travel there to participate? I was hard to tell in the photo if there were horse trailers. All I could really is is vehicles. What fun! Thanks for sharing.
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