Welsh Cobs

A TRIBUTE TO THE WELSH COB


With a suitcase ready packed, mobile phone and laptop on full charge, intrepid travel writers are ready for anything! With just a phone call they could be on their way to some exotic destination in minutes.
With such promise in store, how easy it is for an aspiring scribe to overlook what is on his own doorstep.

The writer is fortunate enough to live on a beautiful and relatively unspoilt piece of the west Wales coastline, that should never be ignored or taken for granted!

Ceredigion, formerly Cardiganshire, is still one of Wales’ best kept secrets and has a coastline that can compete with anywhere in Europe!

Located in the ‘belly‘ of Wales, Ceredigion has a national park to the south (Pembrokeshire) a national park to the north (Snowdonia) and, once crossing the Plynlumon mountain range, there is one to the east (Brecon)!

To the west there is nothing but the capricious Irish sea!

Boxed in between the more publicised virtues of its neighbours, Ceredigion has retained many of its values and is a harmonious mix of tourism, and agriculture; so it should come as no surprise to find a ‘Festival of Horses’ being held in the Georgian harbour town of Aberaeron.

Aberaeron celebrates its two hundredth birthday in 2007, and was originally built as a harbour when the neighbouring village, and boat building community of Aberarth, got washed away by violent storms earlier in the nineteenth century.

Incongruous as the occasion might appear, it recently celebrated its fifth festival this year, with the erection of a life-size bronze-cast statue, of a Welsh Cob, in the centre of the town.

The Welsh Cob is the most venerated of beasts; its blood has been used to ‘invigorate’ the bloodlines of more delicate racing breeds, to introduce stamina and strength, and has been used by huntsmen and riders worldwide, for its versatility and fine temperament.

These fine creatures are synonymous with the region, and there are many fine stud farms in the surrounding locality, whose offspring have been flown and exported to such far flung countries as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States!

The festival itself takes place on the community field known as Cae Sgwar (Square Field) -a green field that is slap in the centre of the town, and an asset that is now almost unique!

Many of the town’s roads are sealed off from traffic, leaving only the main thoroughfares and coast road clear for road users.
The roads around the field are part of Alban Square, and here you will find stalls of local produce and crafts. The field itself houses a ring and grandstands, with food-stalls, and sideshows for the younger visitor.

This year the theme for the main parade was the Wild West, and the many riders who donned appropriate outfits, received audible appreciation from the crowds.

Aberaeron hosts many festivals and events during the course of the year; included in these is a seafood festival, a rugby sevens tournament, a sailing regatta, longboat races, a carnival day, and a tug-of-war across the harbour entrance.
For a small town, it excels in providing and hosting all these social events for the entertainment of returning visitors, and I feel proud to be part of that community.

Whether or not a Welsh Cob should be the first external object d’art , in this small harbour town, will continue to be debated. Perhaps, in years to come, someone will design a suitable tribute celebrating its two hundred years as a harbour for the sailors, fishermen, and traders, who were responsible for welding this community into what it is today!


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