Travellers wash their horses at the fair in Appleby

Hundreds have descended on the quaint village of Appleby for the first day of its famous annual horse fair, which runs all weekend. Traveller families, horse breeders and Shetland pony lovers alike gather together in the Westmorland area of Cumbria for the event which attracts around 10,000 visitors every year. One tradition which had continued through the ages is the washing of the horses in the River Eden, which is undertaken in order to get the horses ready for their debuts and pictures today (top and bottom right) showed both riders and their horses enjoying a splash. This is while others were already riding round in horse-drawn carts (bottom left and centre).