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Appleby Horse Fair’s sunny return where ‘a horse isn’t a horse until it’s washed in the River Eden’
A hot June day heading into summer with full force means only one thing – the return of Appleby Horse Fair.
The annual gathering of Travellers sees thousands descend on a town in Cumbria that is usually quiet. Today (June 9) was the second day of the fair as it returned for 2023 for seven days in the northern sunshine.
From first thing, the Gypsy and Traveller community were down at the River Eden washing their horses. One woman told CumbriaLive that you can’t call a horse a horse until it has been washed in water way.
READ MORE: Appleby Horse Fair’s closed and open pubs and bars during annual Traveller gathering
The 250-year-old annual attraction, held in early June, began on Thursday and runs until next Wednesday (June 14). Around 10,000 people attend with 1,000 caravans making the journey to Cumbria from all corners of the United Kingdom.
Those in attendance traditionally wash their horses in the River Eden, which runs through the village of Appleby-in-Westmorland. We headed down to Appleby to chat to people and see what they thought of the ancient tradition.
Right from 9am, horse could be seen being washed in the river with fairgoers using Fairy Liquid and shampoo for the best outcome. One of the first people in the river this morning was Sammy James Friend who had travelled from Kent for the fair.
Speaking to CumbriaLive, she said: “It has taken six and a half hours to get here. We didn’t stop because it would take another hour. We set off on Tuesday and got here at 2am on Wednesday morning. It’s been absolutely brilliant, the first day was a bit cold but now, we’ve got the sun shining.”
Last year, Sammy fell off her horse when taking it in the river and can’t swim so played it a bit safe this year. She’s been coming to Appleby Horse Fair for four years and the 17-year-old said she’s been riding a horse since she was three.
Talking about being part of the community, she said: “It’s brilliant. I get freedom, I’ve learned a lot of skills that no one else would learn.”
In the mid-20th century, the story developed that the fair originated with a royal charter to the borough of Appleby from King James II of England in 1685. Appleby’s medieval borough fair, held at Whitsuntide, ceased in 1885. The ‘New Fair’, held in early June on Gallows Hill, which was then unenclosed land outside the borough boundary, began in 1775 for sheep and cattle drovers and horse dealers to sell their stock; by the 1900s it had evolved into a major Gypsy/Traveller occasion.
Vicki Woodall had travelled from Middlesbrough and only started coming in recent years. She was there with her daughter Milly who took her horse into the river for the first time yesterday. Milly said: “I felt like I was going to fall off, but other than that it was really good.”
Speaking about the fair, Vicki said: “It’s been good. It’s been really, really good. It was quiet Wednesday but it’s been buzzing. To me [yesterday] was a bit quieter than normal, but it was nice. The weather has been perfect.”
Allison Lee, who travelled from Newcastle to be at the fair, said that you can’t call a horse a horse unless it has been washed in the River Eden. She was down at the river washing her horse early in the morning before it got too hot. She said: “I’m 40 now and I’ve been coming since I was seven, so a long time. It’s very different now to what it was years ago. The railings on the flash make it a lot safer now.
“With the RSPCA here the horse welfare has just gone through the roof. It’s actually quite nice, the horses are a lot better. The money has gone up for the horses and that goes a long way. If you’re putting more money in for a horse then you’re going to take care of it.”
Allison said that in the last five years, she has noticed a larger influx of the public attending the fair. Over the weekend she’s seen three times as many people as there once was.
She said taking your horse down to the river to be washed is a tradition. Allison said: “We don’t call a horse a horse unless it has been washed in the River Eden. It’s a traditional thing I think. It’s important to have these traditions. As I said we don’t class them as horses until they’ve been here and it’s a good education for horses.
“The noise, the people, the distractions, it just makes a horse.”
Tamara Smith was there with her daughter Annalise Poter. Annalise’s horse, Jacob, was crowned Best Junior Rising Star at the fair and she was incredibly proud. Tamara said: “It’s perfect. We’ve had him since he was a yearling, he’s lovely. My daughter rides him and my sons ride him all over. It’s fantastic.”
Tamara said she’s been coming to Appleby Horse Fair since she was a little girl and they get to catch up with friends and family they don’t normally get to see. Welfare vet Chloe said “Jacob’s owners were really calm with him and he was very relaxed. They were telling me about how he does all the different disciplines, and can turn his hoof to anything. He’s such a lovely horse who was clearly enjoying his Fair experience.”
Andy Macpherson, who works for Redwings Horse Sanctuary, and helps run the Best at Appleby Awards. Speaking about the awards, Andy said: “The Best At Appleby are awards given out to horses and horse owners for horses being in excellent standards of health, happiness and horsemanship.
“The vets have criteria that they are using to assess the horse and they have a good chat with the owners. We also have two specialist awards that are best in harness and best hoof health and they’re given out by a master harness maker.
“It gives us a warm feeling because lots of people don’t take their horses into the show ring and don’t get the acknowledgement. But here, they’ve been pulled out because they are really standing out for the right reasons and I think people feel an immense sense of pride.
“There are often a lot of stories where they have brought the horse from quite difficult beginnings and you really see the effort and work that has been put in.”
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