The Commons Riding since 1514

Hawick has a very interesting custom - the Commons Riding. This is where the young men of the district, with the 'authority' of the big man of the region ride around the boundaries of the district. They were looking to make sure that raiders, called 'reivers', were not encroaching on their land. Reivers stole cattle especially, but were into all sorts of bad behaviour. In particular it also celebrates the defeat of English marauders by the young teenage boys of Hawick in 1514. It is all explained at their website

Luckily for me, they practice their big ride on Tuesdays and Saturdays over a six-week period. Below is a 44 second video of the horses as they passed right past the Heritage Hub where I am doing research. A lot of locals had lined the streets to see 'the horses'. Some of the riders yelled out a special cry that I could not understand, a sort of rousing "look at us" or "don't mess with us" with a gesture. One family of three toddler boys arrived about 60 mins early, and Mum had to really work hard on a cold windy day to keep their spirits up as they waited; after a picnic and a play they were on the road with flags with at least 20 minutes to go. 

I thought something was up as every shop on the high street had a yellow and blue theme - the colours of the riding.

The first window I saw


The colour theme on every window


Do you want to see over 50 horses in parade? Click here. Damn, it is 89mB. It will need to wait for private viewing. Here is a much more boring still of the rear of the parade.

The last riders move down Main St


Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 14, 2026 at 7:23 PM

    The Riding sounds like a fun event to witness. Great you were there! KP

    ReplyDelete

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