A common riding is an equestrian tradition mainly in the Scottish Borders in Scotland. Male and female riders ride out of the town and along its borders to commemorate the practice from 13th and 15th centuries where there were frequent raids on the Anglo-Scottish border known as the Border Reivers and also to commemorate the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Flodden. Today, the common ridings, rideouts, or riding of the marches continue to be annual events celebrated in the summer in the Borders of Scotland. Each town may have many rideouts over their festival week, usually having one on festival day. Some towns re-enact historic 'common ridings' – although many others have well-established 'festival rides' that are cemented within their town's history. The common riding towns are: Berwick-upon-Tweed, Hawick, Selkirk, Langholm, Lockerbie, Jedburgh, Coldstream, Penicuik, West Linton, Lanark, Lauder, Edinburgh, Melrose, Musselburgh, Galashiels, Duns, Sanquhar, and Peebles.
History
The tradition of common riding dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries, during the continual land border wars both with England and against other clans. It was a Border Country custom to plunder and thieve cattle, known as reiving (a historical name for robbing), and commonplace amongst the major Borders families. In these lawless and battle-strewn times, it became the practice of the day for the local laird to appoint a leading townsperson, who would then ride the burgh’s boundaries, or "marches", to protect their common lands and prevent encroachment by neighbouring burghs and their peoples.
Long after they ceased to be essential, the ridings continued in commemoration of local legend, history, and are "devoted to pageantry, singing, and unique traditions centered around equestrian events."
Present
In current times, common ridings celebrate each Border town's history and tradition in mid-summer, during a period spanning May through to September. Rideouts now involve hundreds of horses, often ridden in costume to evoke a passion worthy of the reivers of old.
Hawick is traditionally the start of the season of annual common ridings, due to the fact that the community captured a flag from the English army in 1514. Alongside the true common riding towns, other towns which now hold ridings are Currie, Penicuik, West Linton, Peebles, Biggar, Galashiels Musselburgh, Duns, Kelso, Jedburgh, Melrose, Coldstream, Yetholm, Annan, Dumfries, Lockerbie, Kirkcudbright, Wigtown, and Gatehouse of Fleet. One of the most recently instituted common ridings was the Copshaw Riding at Newcastleton, formed in 1998.
Each community starts its celebration with the election of that year's principal in the spring, choose from amongst the community. The leader of the community's celebration, once elected and until the end of ceremonies that year in that community, the principal man/woman/pair is (are) an honoured figure(s). The principal is usually an unmarried man of good character. The principals then lead the rideout and celebrate with other towns to show their kinship.
Each community often has a different name for their nominated leader/principal:
Annan: Cornet (and Lass) Biggar: Cornet Coldstream: Coldstreamer Currie: Ensign Dumfries: Cornet (and Lass) Duns: Reiver (and Lass) Edinburgh: Captain and Edinburgh Lass (elected each in their own right) Galashiels: Braw Lad (also has a lass elected in her own right called a Braw Lass) Gatehouse of Fleet: Lad (and Lass) Hawick: Cornet Innerleithen: Standard Bearer (and Lass) Jedburgh: Callant Kelso: Kelsae Laddie Kirk Yetholm, Scottish Borders: Bari Gadgi and Bari Manushi Kirkcudbright: Cornet and Lass Lanark: Lord Cornet Langholm: Cornet Linlithgow: Provost of the Deacons' Court Lockerbie: Cornet (and Lass) Melrose: Melrosian Musselburgh: Honest Lad (also has a lass elected in her own right called an Honest Lass) Newcastleton/Copshaw Holm: Tub (and Flake) Peebles: Cornet (and Lass) Penicuik: Hunter (and Hunter's Lass) Sanquhar: Cornet (and Lass) Selkirk: Standard Bearer West Linton: Whipman (and Lass)
While most community festivities last a week, some are focused around a few days while others last for up to two weeks. The programme will consist of a combination of ceremonies, ride outs, entertainment, and traditional Scottish sports. Community spirit for the ride is symbolised by the Burgh Flag, which is a colourful ceremony is bussed, recalling the days when a knight's lady attached her ribbon to his lance before a battle, whereby now ribbons are tied to the Burgh Flagstaff by the principal lass. The colours are usually that of the town or village (for instance, Kelso is blue and white, Hawick is blue and yellow).