Barley Saturday

It was only when I got on the bus and found it to be packed, instead almost empty, that I realized it must be Barley Saturday in Cardigan. This annual celebration of horseflesh dates from 1871 when it was both a hiring fair for farm workers and a display of stallions at stud. It marks the end of the spring sowing, barley being the last crop to go in.

Sadwrn Barlys is a huge event in the local farming calendar and people travel into Cardigan from a wide area. It starts with a stallion show in a field on the edge of town when the horses are put through their paces in front of the bowler-hatted judges. Once the prizes have been awarded the horses are led through the main streets, winners first. The place is packed and those in the know settle in vantage points well in advance of the procession, fish and chips in hand. The pubs are bursting and Welsh is the chief language on the lips of the well-oiled farmers and horse-breeders.

The horses being stallions, there is always a fair amount of whinnying and prancing, flying hooves and whisking tails, so the crowds are kept behind barricades. But on the whole it's a very relaxed event, most of the exhibitors know each other so it's an opportunity to renew acquaintance, exchange gossip or banter and discuss stud fees.

After the horse parade we had horse-drawn vehicles and then a seemingly endless procession of old tractors, some dating back 50 or 60 years. Although I admire the loving labour that has gone into restoring and primping these treasures I can't match the passion of the commentator who reeled off the makes and models in the ecstatic tones of art connoisseur let loose in a secret cache of old masters. I slipped away as the air filled with the fumes and the chugging of many combustion engines.

It's impossible to do justice to the day with a single picture so I've put a selection of images in my blipfolio, to show not only the events but also some of the faces in the crowd which for me are the main attraction of the day and give the Barley Saturday event its special atmosphere.