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Do you want to be a Hobby Horse record breaker?!
Hurst Show and Country Fayre's connection with hobby horses began over twenty years ago when they were introduced to the show as a replacement for live horses due to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom.
We've been horsing about every year since, and in 2017, were delighted to hold the UK's first Hobby Horse Jumping Championships.
The competition attracted lots of interest, even being featured on BBC Breakfast News with Mike Bushell taking to the jumps!
Hobby horses are now such a well-loved and integral part of the show that we decided to take the reins in attempting to break a Guinness World Record for "Largest Stick Horse Parade"!
What's involved?
The current record stands at 250 participants and we reckon that with the support of our fabulous show supporters, we can break that to become a record-breaking village show!
So, on Sunday 26th June, we'd like as many people as possible to join us on a short hack around the village with trusty hobby horse steeds in hand!
Do you wanna be a record-breaker?
We hope that lots of people will want to have a go at attempting to break a world record.
Here's how you can get involved:
- Pre-register to take part by
Completing our online registration form
- Prepare your horse (see advice below)
and decide on your riding gear
– fancy dress is very much encouraged!
- Gallop along to Martineau Green
from 1.15pm on Sunday 26th June with your horse in hand
to collect your numbered sticker.
- Our stewards will position you in your blocks
and starter's orders will be at 2pm.
- Walk / trot around the parade route.
- Feed your horse a well-deserved treat for their hard work!
Important Need-to-knows!
To avoid disappointment, please read the following points very carefully as the Guinness World Record guidelines are very stringent.
- To help us manage numbers,
please pre-register
to take part wherever possible.
- All participants must be displaying their numbered stickers
to be counted in the record attempt.
Please arrive promptly from 1.15pm to collect these.
- Numbered stickers will be issued on a first come first served.
We reserve the right to turn people away due to health and safety reasons
if too many non-registered people arrive.
- All participants must be carrying either a
home-made
or commercially available hobby stick horse
which clearly has a horse's head at one end.
- All participants must be moving along the parade route in single file.
- There must be no significant gaps in the flow of stick horses – riders must not be more than 2m apart in the parade.
FAQs
Where will the parade route go?
- We will follow a circular route starting with a lap of Martineau Green,
heading up School Road towards the pond, then back along School Road,
and finishing with another lap of Martineau Green.
- The route is approximately 1.1km and will be clearly marked out with stewards to help direct along the way.
- Before buying new,
we'd suggest looking on free sites such as Facebook Marketplace,
local Facebook Free groups, Freegle and Gumtree
as there are often people giving away
or selling second-hand hobby horses very cheaply.
- There will be limited hobby horses available to borrow on the day, available on a first come first served basis.
- Yes, homemade hobby horses are very welcome to take part!
- We'd recommend using these instructions to make sure your horse looks spick and span for the parade.
- Absolutely!
We'd love as many children to take part as possible.
To be counted for the record,
they need to be holding a hobby horse
and walking independently in single file.
- Pushchairs can be walked along the parade route
provided they are in single file
but won't be counted in the record attempt numbers.
- All young riders will receive a souvenir rosette as a memento of their record-breaking attempt.
- Well behaved dogs on leads are more than welcome, but please make sure they don't scare the horses.
Please contact us with any other questions.
Registration Form
