Not the real thing, but here is my family having fun on horseback. - a fitting link with the fact this post marks my my 1200th contribution to my Family History Fun blog.
I wanted to convey the enjoyment and enthusiasm blogging has given me in sharing my stories of my ancestral trail, past and present.
My daughter celebrating her 1st birthday with a present from her Nana and Grandad - this present of "Donkey" remained a favourite.
"Donkey"had an extended holiday up in the loft before coming down again, with a new saddle cloth, for granddaughter.
I showed this on my blog very recently but it is such a good link to the prompt image, so here it is again. Daughter is the middle rider on an empty Blackpool beach, in Lancashire, taken on a October half term holiday.
Daughter and granddaughter continued to have fun on horseback.
Daughter in the 1980s
Granddaughter c. 2014
Another little one perched this time on a cart horse - my cousin Gloria at the the family business of carters & coalmen in Blackpool, Lancashire, c.1940
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Onto a bit of local history:
We live in the Scottish Borders, in the town of Hawick and later the village of Earlston - a region often called "Scotland's Horse Country", where riding is in the blood.
In the summer the towns celebrate their history and heritage with the annual Common Ridings - with cavalcades of riders re-enacting the age old ritual of "riding the marches", made in the past to safeguard common land and burgh rights.
In Hawick the event is also a commemoration of the "callants", young lads of Hawick, who in 1514, raided a body of English troops and captured their flag - the "banner blue". This skirmish followed the the ill-fated Battle of Flodden in 1513, when King James IV and much of the "Flower of Scotland" were killed.
The 1514 Monument below, unveiled in June 1914 in the town centre and known locally as "The Horse", commemorates this event.
Each year, a young man is chosen to be the the key figure, called a Cornet, and leads his followers on ride outs.
In the main ceremony on a local holiday, the Cornet proudly carries the town's "banner blue".
It is a time for local pride and passion, when exiles return to their home town to renew friendships and join in the celebrations - in ceremonies and processions, picnics and horse-racing, and in ,usic, songs,and ballads such as this one below - one of my favourites.
The Slitrig and Teviot are two rivers that meet in Hawick.
Photographs by Lesley Fraser, www.ilfimaging.co.uk
Over the centuries all of the towns and villages in the Borders have come to celebrate their own special week of events, but each one with its own unique community spirit and specific traditions.
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Oh what a fun time to celebrate...and ride around in parades if you will! I didn't know that about Scotland's horses, nor quite where Earlston was, so I looked it up! There's so much history all around you! Loved seeing all your girls enjoying donkeys and horses!
ReplyDeletePerfect pictures of daughter & granddaughter on donkeys and horses to match the prompt, and as I've said recently, the community spirit displayed during the 'ridings' and other town and village celebrations is to be praised and envied. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat terrific equine family history. So many beautiful smiles.
ReplyDeleteSusan