{{Short description|Event for buying and selling horses}} [[File:Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant horse fair NLW3362501.jpg|thumb|A horse fair in the village Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in Wales, c. 1885]] [[File:Gypsy caravan at Stow Horse Fair May 2019 - geograph.org.uk - 6146110.jpg|thumb|A traditional Romani vardo at Stow Horse Fair, 2019]] A '''horse fair''' is a (typically annual) fair where people buy and sell horses.
In the United Kingdom there are many fairs which are traditionally attended by Romani people and travellers who converge at the fairs to buy and sell horses, meet with friends and relations and to celebrate their music, history and folklore.
Many horse fairs are centuries old, dating back to the 16th century, such as the Appleby Horse Fair and The Great October Fair at Ballinasloe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cumbriacrack.com/2019/08/15/historian-uncovers-the-truth-of-appleby-horse-fair-therell-always-be-appleby/|title=Historian uncovers the truth of Appleby Horse Fair – “There’ll Always Be Appleby”|website=cumbriacrack.com|date=15 August 2019|accessdate=10 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ballinasloe.ie/1/post/2015/09/ballinasloe-october-fair.html|title=BALLINASLOE OCTOBER FAIR 2015|website=ballinasloe.ie|date=27 September 2015|accessdate=10 June 2020}}</ref>
==List of important horse fairs in the United Kingdom== *Appleby Horse Fair, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria *Ballyclare May Fair, Ballyclare, County Antrim *Barnet Fair, Barnet, London *Brigg Fair, Brigg, Lincolnshire *Dartmoor Drift, Dartmoor, Devon *Horncastle Horse Fair, Lincolnshire *Lee Gap, Yorkshire *Stow Fair, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire *Wickham Horse Fair, Wickham, Hampshire *Widecombe Fair, Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Devon
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne 002.jpg|Valkenburg horse fair, 1618 File:Paul Sandby - Horse Fair on Bruntsfield Links, Edinburgh - Google Art Project.jpg|'Horse Fair on Bruntsfield Links, Edinburgh' by Paul Sandby, 1750 File:Stow Horse Fair - geograph.org.uk - 1576364.jpg|Stow Horse Fair, 1978 File:Appleby Horse Fair 2007 Gypsy Caravans and Horses - geograph.org.uk - 713928.jpg|Appleby Horse Fair, 2007 File:Ballinasloe Horse and Handler Sculpture by James McCarthy 2010 09 15.jpg|Bronze sculpture in reference to the Ballinasloe Horse Fair, 2003 </gallery>
==See also== * Stow Fair, Lincolnshire, lost medieval fair which continued as a horse fair until 1954 * Banagher Horse Fair, in Banagher, County Offaly, Ireland * Ballinasloe Horse Fair, in Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland * Tallow Horse Fair, in Tallow, County Waterford, Ireland Category:Fairs
==References== {{reflist}}
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