THE BALLOON MAN

One of a kind horse fair
from: fijitimes.com
Daily Mail
Monday, June 10, 2013
THE sun shone for the annual Appleby Horse Fair last Friday, and young travellers made the most of it as they bathed their horses in the River Eden.

Dressed to make the most of the sunshine, the travellers plunged into the cool river to wash their steeds before selling them at the traditional horse fair.

The river was as popular with the horses as the girls riding them as temperatures soared in Cumbria and across Britain after a long and cold winter.

King James II granted a Royal Charter in 1685 allowing a horse fair to be held "near the River Eden", and every year thousands of travellers come from around Britain and the rest of the world to take part.

The horse fair, which started last Friday and goes until Wednesday, is the largest and one of the oldest fairs of its kind anywhere in Europe. Travellers and horse dealers gather at Appleby, in Westmorland, in the Eden Valley, Cumbria, to meet old friends, conduct business, but primarily to trade horses.

Traditionally they bathe the horses in the River Eden before grooming them and riding them fast along the "mad mile" to show them off to potential buyers.

As well as horses, the fair also features market stalls selling food and other merchandise as well as fortune telling, palm reading and other live entertainment. Last year the fair was featured in the hit TV series My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.