I remember the horse show. It was quite an event to go up the outer circle to watch the horses. I also remember somebody from the allotments following behind the horses with a bucket!

Thanks for your posting Wendy I was starting to think I made it up about those parades.

Joe Bloggs
alive and kicking
at Crownflats.co.uk

Yes Wendy the one with the bucket more often than not would have been your father in law "Uncle Duke"!

If I remember rightly it was the heavy horses at Whitsun - Coalmen, Brewery Drays pulled by big Shire horses, Rag and Bone men etc, all whose carts were very heavily decorated with fancy paintwork scrolls and flowers (a lost art these days). Earlier in the year at Easter it was the lighter ones that pulled the two wheeled carts, all still very highly decorated.

I also remember that when lorries started to replace the horses and carts for coalmen, rag & bone men, milkmen etc they still decorated their lorries in the same fashion with the fancy artwork.

'Cos we were kids we couldn't get up in the morning so all of the judging was over by the time that we got there. The judging was done in the Inner Circle when they all passed by the judging stand and later on they were all lined up around the Inner Circle and down the link road between there and the Outer Circle with all of their rosettes and 1st, 2nd and 3rd place cards around the horses necks.

You're right about the men and their buckets 'cos we had many a stick of lovely rhubarb from the allotment people who swore that the flavour was greatly enhanced by the horse manure. Makes a change from the bullsh*t that goes on these days.

Peter

You know that rhubarb that tasted so nice? I'm not too sure if Mum used to wash it before cooking!!! Didn't they used to say "...a little bit of dirt never did anybody any harm"

The horse show is still going I took my grandchildren to see it in 2003 at Battersea Park where it moved to from regents park

Thanks for the update Johnny.

Can you remember if it is still Easter & Whitsun or have they changed the dates?? I wouldn't mind taking my grandchildren to see the horses.

Pete
As far as I know it is only easter

Thanks Johnny

It looks like it's next year.

Peter