Fairgoers at Appleby are being invited to new ‘meet the expert’ sessions organised by animal welfare charities at this year’s event.  

The traditional gathering of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, which is the biggest in the UK, officially begins this Thursday (4th June) with the busiest days taking place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (5th, 6th, 7th).  

Hundreds of horses are bought and sold at the Fair, which is also an important holiday for many people attending. 

The Q & A-type sessions will take place at 1 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the red tent on Salt Tip Corner, with a focus on horse health, happiness and horsemanship. 

On Thursday there will be the opportunity to talk about the latest science on watering and fitness with the Appleby Horse Project, made up of the eight charities who attend the Fair*. 

Offering water to horses is now known to be vital immediately after exercise, with this being recognised across elite horse sport. Dehydration poses a huge risk to horses at the Fair and outweighs any risk of colic to their welfare. 

A limited number of free reusable water bottles with ‘My horse drank first’ written on them will be given away to those taking part. 

Routine health care with Redwings’ vet and Best at Appleby Awards judge Nicola is on Friday, which will be an opportunity to talk about issues like worming and the latest developments on how to protect against equine flu and strangles.  

Cumbria, Lancashire and North Yorkshire are all equine flu hotspots right now, and owners are being urged not to work their horse at the Fair if they’re showing any symptoms.  

On Saturday, a Certified Equine Behaviour Consultant will be at the tent to talk about happy horsemanship and asking Fairgoers what good horsemanship looks like to them.  

There will be the latest examples of positive and negative horse and donkey body language, giving an opportunity to improve understanding of them, and the chance to ask any questions on the subject of handling. 

Kerry Taylor, Education Manager at Blue Cross, said: “These sessions invite Fairgoers who are interested in the latest science and want to keep developing their horse knowledge to find out more, and of course we’d like to learn from them too. We hope they will be popular.” 

This year’s Best at Appleby Awards, recognising outstanding horse health, happiness and horsemanship at the Fair, are going mobile!  

Redwings’ vets Nicola and Chloe will choose the best six examples to award the Traditional Gypsy Cob Association-sponsored rosettes, while they walk and talk to owners - spot them with their navy and gold hats and new backpacks!  

Nicola said: “We have some wonderful relationships with previous winners which are very important to us, but we are looking for some new faces this year! Please stop us if you see us, we’d love to talk to you.” 

It’ll be over to Fairgoers to choose their People’s Choice Champion 2026 on the Best at Appleby social media on Saturday. The Champion’s rosette will be awarded next to the River Eden on Sunday morning.  

Six-year-old part-bred Pandora captured the hearts of the public, who voted for her to win on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook last year and is one of the faces of this year’s posters. Make sure you’re following for the latest on the Awards and the Fair! 

There will be daily river clearing by the RSPCA’s water rescue team between Thursday and Sunday and extra night-time patrols too. 

RSPCA chief inspector Lyndsey Taylor said: “There are hundreds of animals at this event, and we’re here to work with Fairgoers to best ensure their welfare. 

“RSPCA officers from our water rescue team will be removing debris from the water near the ramp every morning on the main days to try to prevent injury. 

“Last year we had a busy but positive Fair where if intervention was needed it was received well.  

“Many of the issues we did have, particularly with over-working of horses, were later in the day so we’ll be extending our night-time patrols further.  

“We’ll be providing a vet station at Salt Tip Corner where assistance can be sought for any animal who needs it between 10am and 4pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and if anyone has any concerns, please approach an RSPCA officer, or police officer.” 

The RSPCA is sending 35 staff and volunteers to this year’s Fair; Bransby Horses is sending six; Redwings Horse Sanctuary is sending six; World Horse Welfare is sending six; Blue Cross is sending five; The Mare and Foal Sanctuary is sending four; British Horse Society is sending two; and The Donkey Sanctuary is sending two. There will also be four vets donating their time from private practices.