Karlshamn Festival with the Horses!
I have driven my horses to various events many times. Especially my stallion Mackay was used to all sorts of things. While I was living in Mörrum, I couldn’t afford a car for the first few years, so I drove or rode the horses everywhere I needed to go. Even back in the 80s, it wasn’t very common to use horses for transportation, so I got various assignments, such as for bachelorette parties, graduations, and weddings.
One day, I was asked if I would consider participating in the Karlshamn Festival. At that time, I also had Mackay’s son, Magill, so I drove them as a pair. I had restored the carriage myself, and the harnesses were ones I had bought at an auction at Huseby Manor, so there was a bit of history to them.
Driving at such an event required a lot of preparation, and I did what I could to drive the horses around the village and get them used to the environment. It wasn’t just the traffic; at the festival, there would also be an orchestra, spectators, and so on. We had prepared well, and I had helpers who would walk alongside the horses, so I was confident that we could handle it.
What we encountered, however, I couldn’t have imagined. It was far more complicated than I had anticipated.
We started from Karlshamn’s riding school, where we were escorted by the mounted police. It felt safe and reassuring to have them both in front of and behind my carriage. As we reached the outskirts of Karlshamn, we were met by orchestras, dancers, sailors, and all those who would be parading through the streets. The worst part was the long wait before everything got started, as there were so many participants ahead of us. There were also a few people riding with us who weren’t used to horses; they were hooting and hollering in the back, causing quite a commotion both in front and behind the carriage.
When we finally started moving, it was very stop-and-go. We would walk a few steps and then have to wait, and it wasn’t easy for the horses to walk on the cobblestones or up the hills, so we had our work cut out for us to keep them calm. The men leading them did an excellent job. At one point, it got too much for Mackay, and he reared up. The police stepped in, riding in front of him, giving him something else to focus on.
The worst part was that people standing on the streets thought it would be a good idea to push their children forward for a better view, and more than once, they were dangerously close to getting under the horses’ hooves. It was crowded, with over 300,000 people in town.
We and the horses survived, but I swore it would be the last time I participated in a festival with the horses. I can’t describe how relieved I was when we finally got them home safely to the stable.
I don’t remember the exact year, but I believe it was 1985.
