tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8782167599693788794.post3902166153851964908..comments2024-02-27T10:50:27.922+00:00Comments on Books, Mud and Compost. And Horses.: We like to have an old horse about the placeJane Badgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628233623713926723noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8782167599693788794.post-68397634747026142842016-10-10T08:10:13.553+01:002016-10-10T08:10:13.553+01:00Thanks for your comment Fran. I've added a bit...Thanks for your comment Fran. I've added a bit to the piece to explain about the Pitmen's Derby, which has an official name: the Northumberland Plate. The name referred to its audience rather than its riders. It was a conventional thoroughbred race, but was run during the annual holiday for the local mining industry. The race meeting was hugely popular with the miners, and for many, a highlight of their holiday week. After the mining industry was nationalised in 1947, the holiday week was abolished. The mining industry contracted dramatically during the post-war years, and there are now no active mines in the area. The old popular title of the Pitmen's Derby will probably wither altogether itself in time. Tommy Weston won the race at least once more, as far as I'm aware, riding Oracion in 1939.Jane Badgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02628233623713926723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8782167599693788794.post-23167963269158035852016-10-07T16:55:50.116+01:002016-10-07T16:55:50.116+01:00What a great collection of vignettes! Thanks for t...What a great collection of vignettes! Thanks for the explanation of the chain boy, that linked photo is worth a visit!<br /><br />So we know what a chain boy is, but what is a pit man? Is it someone who worked in a coal mine? And, if so, was this Derby to honor them or did they have some role in the race? That's fascinating on its own. Those horses in the video definitely don't look like pit ponies!<br /><br />Thanks so much for being interested in history!Fran Jurgahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05714349624852287450noreply@blogger.com