HSO to run in Knaresborough Bed Race 2024, in aid of Follifoot Park Disabled Riders Group

April 25, 2024

HSO are entering a team in the Great Knaresborough Bed Race for the fourth time! The Bed Race is something different: it is part fancy dress pageant and part gruelling time trial over a 2.4 mile course, ending with a swim through the sometimes icy waters of the River Nidd.

HSO running in the Knaresborough Bed Race

We will push our metal bed frame, complete with passenger, up a steep grassy bank, through parkland, along the scenic Waterside. We pass through the dramatic Nidd Gorge, heave up the steep Castle Ings, around the cobbled stones of the Market Place, sprint down the High Street and across High Bridge. The last stretch is on the rough ground of McIntosh Park before the notorious 20-yard swim across the fast-flowing Nidd.

According to the event website (www.bedrace.co.uk), runners have to be fit, fanatical and frankly a bit mad. We are certainly two out of three, and are still working on the fitness! Our team is made up of musicians from the orchestra, some of whom are entering for the first time. The training is tough, but we are determined to have fun and run a great race.

Thanks to a generous sponsor, we have commissioned a new ‘go faster’ bed, to replace the rather stately galleon we have run with before. Let’s hope the team can rise to the challenge and deliver a ‘team best’ time!

We also have the creative challenge of turning our metal bed frame into a carnival float for the Parade!

Charity Fund Raising

Storm, the mechanical horse

As ever, we will be raising money for HSO’s charity partner. In 2024 this is Follifoot Park Disabled Riders Group. This local charity provides horse riding and carriage riding for people with a wide range of disabilities. Set up in 1986, the charity is based at Follifoot Park Riding Centre in Harrogate and is run by a group of 140 fantastic volunteers who turn up each week, in all weathers, to get the horses ready, walk alongside the riders and have a chat with them. Others help in the office with the administration and keep everything running smoothly.

The Group currently has 130 riders, riding horses and ponies, or using a specially adapted carriage. The Group has two hoists for those who need some extra help getting on the horse and a mechanical horse called Storm. He simulates the movement of a real horse and has an interactive screen, so the rider can ride on the beach or around the zoo for instance.

Riders can start from 2 years old and there have even been a few riding into their 80’s, so if there’s a will there’s a way! The Group gives riders great exercise, improving their core strength, balance and confidence, and above all it’s good fun in the fresh air.

If you’d like to make a donation to Follifoot Park Disabled Riders Group, you can do this through their “Charities Aid Foundation” page. Simply go to www.cafonline.org and search “Follifoot Park”.