Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre set to hold Christmas market

The event coincides with remembrance weekend and visitors will be encouraged to remember animals who died at war.

Trusty heavy horse Merlin will be standing at the market wearing his red and purple poppies and collecting donations.

They collect donations for their purple poppy collection throughout the year, where visitors pay £1 for a poppy to write a message on it and place it on their wall.

As the year goes, by it builds into a picture of a horse and has become so popular that they currently have two horses building.

All the money collected is sent to The Household Cavalry Foundation (HCF), a charity which supports all the members of Household Cavalry including serving soldiers, operational casualties, veterans and their dependants. They hope to be last year’s funds of £1,300.

The purple poppy remembers the horses and other animals who played a huge part within the armed forces and still do today.

After the end of the first World War, many heavy horses were lost and 1918 was the start of the demise of the Northern/Scottish horse, the Clydesdale.

In WW1, horses not only served alongside men in appalling conditions, but also gave comfort and friendship to those who needed it.

Hay Farm’s Christmas market is separate to the Ford and Etal festive market and will run on Saturday and Sunday, November 11 and 12 from 10am until 4pm.