Countryside
Family
Fun
Show History Book
“The White Horse Show – A Village Charity”
This is a book that describes the initial struggle of a small band of volunteers in 1960, who had the task of raising enough money to build a new village hall for the village of Uffington. It also describes in detail, the trials and tribulations that they overcame to achieve their goal of the new village hall. Starting in 1960 as a Village Hall Building Fund Committee until the first White Horse Show in 1972, when they became the White Horse Show Committee. It shows that if the grit and determination is there, nothing is impossible. To be part of the white Horse Show Committee, the only qualification necessary is to be certifiably mad. After all, one must need a dose of insanity or a very healthy sense of humour to manage the mysterious transparent toilets, to the collapsible marquees, not to mention the terrifying racing lawnmowers, and still come back for more – 36 years in a row.
The story of how, from humble beginnings and with little to no financial backing, one group of individuals fought to create and maintain one of the most popular country shows in England is far more than one of prerequisite madness: it is a story of intense hard work, grit and frequent hilarity.
Against preaching’s of doom and the background of the financial slump of the ‘90s, the show committee continued to build an event that became a source of entertainment, income, education and pride for Uffington and its surrounding villages. From freefall parachute teams to the Household Cavalry; from Spanish equestrians to precocious gymnasts; from pet piglets to motorcycle daredevils; the story of the White Horse Show is one of an event that harnessed the spirit of the community.
The author being one of only two surviving members of the original committee of 1960, this is therefore a first hand account of the founding and continuance of the White Horse Show.
Published by ATHENA PRESS, ISBN 978 -
