The booking has opened up for this year’s Common
Ridings at my yard. For those of you that don’t know, Common Rides or Riding of
the Marches are
an ancient tradition dating back centuries in the Scottish Borders. With so many
disputes and wars with the English, the boundaries of each township needed to
be checked on a regular basis to make sure they hadn’t been encroached or taken
over by English revellers. The best way to do this was to send townsfolk out on
their horses to ride the borders to ensure the land was still theirs. These
traditional rides were hundreds of years old, but were revived in the early 20th
century under behest of the new King as a celebration, and apart from the two
World Wars, have been in place ever since. They usually occur as part of a week
or even a fortnight of a festival celebrating the town in question, its history
and traditions.
As a rider, the Common Ride provides many highlights.
By galloping over fields and commons with anything up to 300 other riders
depending on the town/city, you can REALLY gallop: the horses find an extra
gear you never ever knew they had, even those with their owners for years, and
you really soar at break-neck speeds. You also get the joy of parading through
a town bursting full of spectators, decorated in festival bunting, all of them cheering
you along the way. Many go to one of the gallops too, so you often see riders
waving. Along with so many spectators,
come lots of photos and videos available in blogs, on Facebook, on YouTube
along with at least one if not more professional photographers to buy pictures
from. For someone like me that rides without bringing a friend so has so few
photos to document my riding, that holds more appeal that one might at first realise.
However, the difficult part about Common Rides is
typically holding your horse. The horses are allowed onto the gallops in
groups, or are paced in pairs. You could easily have to control your own horse
while it watches 100 others gallop off, so it’s titting around excited about
taking off; you need to be fit to hold them for safety. Also, once you’re off
on a gallop, there’s no stopping. You can’t chicken out and break into trot – I
doubt most horses would listen to you anyway; once a horse is with its herd,
you’re a passenger! It’s also unsafe because with so many horses, people are
typically around you on all sides, and horses are over-taking because there’s a
natural variation in their top speed. I’m told that when you fall off, it’s not
hitting the ground you need to worry about – it’s whether you get trampled by
those coming behind you, and how far away your horse is by the time it’s
finished galloping (think like TBs on a racetrack when their jockey’s off –
they stay running with the herd no matter how sweet or human-oriented their
nature).
So, considering all that information, I am in two
minds. From invigilating exams, I will have enough money at the end of this
month to book one Common Ride, even though ideally I’d like to have done at
least two. I am between two rides, and between two horses (or at least two
types of horse). I thought writing it all out might help clarify things in my
mind, and perhaps you readers might have a few helpful opinions too!
So, I guess I’ll start with the two Common Rides I’m
choosing between.
Ride A happens earlier in the season from B by 2-3
weeks. I don’t drive, but I can easily get there on the city bus, and I like
the town enough that I’ll probably be going to watch the Riders come in on the
Saturday (I’d be doing the quieter, faster Monday ride). The ride doesn’t
contain fields or commons because of its location. Instead, the key gallops are
along the beach (something I dreamed of when I was at Uni, as I lived near the
beach from Chariots of Fire and Coldplay’s Yellow music video but my last yard
wasn’t insured for hacks), and galloping on the race course (not the full
course sadly, but some of the quieter grass tracks). With less galloping and
straight forward entry/exit onto these stretches, the ride is easy and
relatively low risk compared to others. You ford the river twice, the same
river that I have to cross to hack out from my yard in fact, and you pick up
the townflag from a beautiful castle. With taking the flag out on Monday’s
ride, rather than returning it to mark the end of the festival in the ride with
more riders involved on a Saturday, the ride is faster and it’s an easier
introduction into galloping with so many horses, especially so many you don’t
know.
In fact, here’s a quick snippet from towards the end
of the beach gallop, very close to where the riders start pulling up:
The downsides of Ride A for me are also the same as
some of the upsides. Essentially, I am afraid of spending a lot of money and
despite enjoying the ride, finding it tame, precisely because it’s an easy
Common Ride and there’s only the beach and race track to really let go at. The
seasoned riders on the yard, including all my ride leaders, all say the joy of
Common Riding is galloping on open fields and wilds – Ride A doesn’t offer that
at all. Also, because I’d be riding the faster and quieter Monday, it would be
an evening ride with fewer spectators and fewer chances for photos or videos
(though my OH may perhaps be convinced to come out for the beach gallop at
least if he’s not busy – a big if though given his job). The yard often does
one or two beach rides a year that you can hire for, so other beach riding
opportunities do exist; besides, I could always wait for the time when I’ll
have my own horse if worst came to worst :)
So, onto Ride B. While Ride A is a fairly new Common
Ride, as it was a bit far north to be a Borders patrol centuries ago, Ride B is
one of the oldest in the country. It used to be that young men of the town had
to carry stones, and instead of riding a boundary per se, they rode from Cairn
to Cairn, and placed a stone to show that the Cairn had been checked. The young
fellas got into trouble when they started carrying booze instead of stones
instead! Still, the Common Ride route has barely changed for hundred of years –
the ride is full of fast work through harvested fields and open commons, but is
still regarded by those in the know as a suitable Common Ride for those new to
them (presumably it’s not as long or with as much galloping as the rides marked
‘wet and wild’ – I can’t wait to be enough of a horseman to be ready for
those)! My aim is to do the city ride I photographed last year, and it is a
fast ride over open fields, meaning Ride B would be better preparation (Ride A
provides Common Riding experience, Ride B provides Common Riding and
field-galloping experience). From watching the videos on YT, the turn-out is
wonderful, and I can see so many of my yard’s horses there from previous years.
Two of my friends that Common Ride each year, including one woman capable of
some of the faster rides, usually do Ride B and speak highly of it. Here’s the
kind of thing it involves:
So, the cons of Ride B are that it will be a bigger
test of nerves. I think I’ll be a bit nervous at first, but will quickly settle
into the excitement of it, but there will be many more occasions of holding a
prancing, snorting, excited horse that’s pulling to be released. Also, it’s not
reachable by bus for me, so I’d have to rely on finding a friend with space in
their car or seeing if the YO has a space in one of the horse lorries (both of
which I’m told are easily doable, I’m just a bit of a worrier when it comes to
planning things out). I’ve never been to the town before, so I don’t hold the
same affection as I do for Town A, which I live only a few miles away from and
think is lovely.
So, on top of choosing an easy, fun versus harder
ride, more respresentative ride, I need to add an extra layer of complexity –
which horse I request, as in theory there’s about 30 I could pick from. I have
it narrowed down to two main choices – Hugo, or a steady grey (of which I mean
Corrie, Hutch or James, but I’ll consider them together as their natures are
very similar).
Hugo & my little sister
So, the advantages of having Hugo are that I adore
him (I’m hard picked to select a favourite on the yard, but if you really
pushed me, it would probably be him). More than that though, I trust Hugo.
While he can be a bouncy, kind plod on a hack, I have ridden the other side – I
have hacked him when he’s mischevious and snorty, titting around looking to be
released. It did not scare me, and I handled him (well, apart from that
overtake of my leader AM, but I did offer to wrestle him back into second and
she refused). I also feel comfortable galloping on him – he’s got the neck
carriage of a driving horse, and that higher head feels oddly comforting at
speed. I also know I can gallop him and take my surroundings in – I’ve done the
railway line enjoying our silhouette in the Winter’s morning sun, and galloped
him one handed when my hat was attacked by a tree. I also know that he’d be fun
– he is apparently a flying machine, so fast he’s capable of being a lead
rider’s horse, and loses about 10yrs in age for the day. In fact, L is a speed
demon, and L has chosen to take Hugo out on Common Rides before – he is no
boring ride! In fact, here she is:
The downsides to Hugo are almost the same – the fact
that he will be excitable, and while any horse will show you its extra gears on
the day, Hugo’s top speed is one to be reckoned with. For all that I trust him
implicitly, he may be a more challenging ride than some of the quieter horses.
He’s also bouncy, so my trot work never looks beautiful on him (though I’m not
bothered how I look – I’m sure no one will be looking at me and caring, and all
I’m worried about it having fun)! His saddle has also been deeply uncomfortable
that day on the wet ride and for my little sister, but oddly fine thereafter. Essentially,
he could be a bigger challenge to my opening nerves than some of the other
horses. Most of my ride leaders don’t suggest Hugo as a first time horse as
he’s not a novice ride, but A said choosing a horse you trust is far more
important than the horse itself per se – you’ll have the skills to balance on
any galloping horse’s back, so if you trust one will go around safely and their
excitability won’t worry you because of the bond, that’s important. Besides,
last year a man new to riding fell in love with Robbie, a flying machine even
on hacks, learned to hack solely on him, did his first Common Ride with him
despite Robbie not being a novice horse in any situation, and had a blast! So,
trust is important (but perhaps so is nerve).
In fact, here’s a video that shows horses going down
a tarmac path and entering a gallop stretch. Skip to 2mins in, when the main
set of horses begins. In fact, pause at 2.04, and that beautiful bouncy bay in
the middle of the screen, with the star and hind right white pastern IS Hugo,
and while he’s ready to go, he’s being very restrained in fact! If you watch
the other horses though, it gives an idea of why entry on a gallop is actually
the most dangerous point on a CR, rather than the gallops themselves – you need
to make it safely around any sharp turns your horse may throw in. The steward
is trying to get them to enter the field in walk for safety by the way, so note
how many are in canter before they even go through the muddy entrance. (For
those of you interested in the horse going nuts the poster is referring to, it’s
the grey on the bank at 3:45): Entering a Gallop - Dances With Horses!
So, the other option is a steady grey – either Corrie
or Hutch who I’ve ridden before, or James who I’ve not but there’s plenty of
time to try out. Here are the usual
suspects:
Corrie beginning the final parade in the city CR
(with Winston the flying chestnut to his right):
Hutch and I at the end of a 2hr hack:
James at the end of the City CR:
The pros are that these horses are all calmer and
quieter, with lower top speeds than Hugo. Aside from James who is apparently stoic
under all conditions, these horses will still get excited and will really go,
but will not be as much of a handful while waiting to be released, and their
slower speeds might make for a more comforting feel on a first ride. This is a
terribly vain point, and only the tiniest one in importance I assure you, but I
do love a grey. Not only would it look prettier to be on a giant grey horse,
but spotting myself in all the photos would be easier on any of these 17hh+
greys compared to the beautiful but plain bay of ~16.1hh Hugo (with only a
small star and right hind pastern to distinguish him).
The downsides are that I may regret choosing a slower
horse, and really wish I’d chosen something that could keep up with L on one of
her electric-bum fast-hacks. These gentle grey horses are also bigger than
Hugo, Corrie by a hand or bit less, and Hutch and James are two of the yards
‘giants’ as they call them; getting off for the break and getting back on would
be harder, though really I think I need a mounting block for any horse given
I’m no matchstick and it’s better for their backs. There’s also some specific
issues with the horses: while I loved Corrie and felt immediately like he’d
look after me, I have still only ridden him once – I’ve not tried to sit to his
canter as he came back to trot on cue from the horses ahead, while I most
likely will have to actively choose the transition down on a CR, so would
switch from the light seat to a seated canter to do so. I suspect he’s so
smooth I could ride it, but he’s off for the Winter so I couldn’t test this
theory before I name him on my booking form.
I haven’t ever ridden James before, though from seeing him on my hacks and at
the city Common Ride, he does look every bit the quiet, reliable steed, even if
he is almost as tall as Ransom is. With Hutch, I do know him well and and I do trust him, but he’s not
just a big horse, he’s a heavily-built one too; if he really decided to go off
on one, I wouldn’t be physically capable of holding him to the same degree as
the others. I also find Hutch’s canter horrid to sit to, and there’s been times
on the railway line when I’ve sat down to bring him back, and hoped he’d hit
trot before I got bounced out of his saddle and onto the floor! While Hutch is generally not a spooky horse,
he was on his toes when we went on a new route, so could be a bit on edge on
the day. Again, both James and Hutch have the Winter off, so I’d have to have
my form in before getting them out to ride again this year.
So, all in all, I think all this boils down a concern
I have about regrets – regrets that I’ve
gone too tame and not made the most of my one opportunity, or regrets that I
gave my nerve such a big challenge that I potentially might not win. I think I’ll
be fine – L really has shown me a pace more akin to a Common Ride, and let me
experience that halt to gallop lurch that’s nigh on inevitable, so I feel much
more prepared than I once did. A few days ago I thought I’d settled on easier
ride A on the more advanced ride Hugo as a compromise, but after hacking out
this week and asking questions, I really felt I’d regret Ride A if it was my
only CR this season. There is a chance I could end up with enough birthday
money to afford a second ride, or be invited back to invigilate May exams;
these both come before the two rides, so perhaps I could add one in, though I
wouldn’t be likely to get my first choice of horse only booking a month in
advance. That would still leave which to book now as my guaranteed ride anyway,
so doesn’t help for the moment. Having got the measure of Ripper, from a ‘buck
and feck off’ toad in the school to a knobber that pulls like a train even on a
hack, to marish lamb in the end, I think I’m already capable of Ride B even on
Hugo. Whether I trust myself enough to accept that bigger challenge is the
question. Besides, this could all be moot – Hugo might have gone even already,
one week into booking, he’s that damn popular! I could end up with a lottery
horse of sorts.
So, opinions welcome please: what would you do and
why? Or pehaps some of you will have done some and have some stories and advice
to share? All comment welcomed! :)
