The 200-year-old Orkney tradition where children dress as horses

The Festival of the Horse is an annual event in St Margaret’s Hope in Orkney which celebrates the farming heritage and traditional skills of the islands.

Over time, the heavy horses and manual ploughs of years gone by have been replaced by tractors, but the memories of those days are kept alive with a parade of children dressed as the horses and a mini ploughing match for the boys held on a beach.

The BBC covered the event back in 1954 and little has changed since then.

The BBC is highlighting its archive through the BBC Rewind project, as part of the broadcaster’s centenary celebrations.

Video by Hannah Roe

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