Town commissions giant horse sculptures to boost tourism

25 giant Clydesdale horse sculptures will adorn a Scottish town next month in a drive to attract tourists.

The READY STEADY GALLOP! collection of horses will be exhibited on the streets and open spaces of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire for 10 weeks from 25 June.

After that the sculptures will be auctioned off to raise funds for local charity The Kilbryde Hospice.

The 6ft sculptures have been designed and painted by local artists, with the aim of “putting the town of Hamilton back on the map”. Organisers are hoping that visitors to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games (23 July-3 August) — just 12 miles north-west of Hamilton — will visit the arts trail during their trip to Scotland.

The theme of Clydesdales was selected because of the town’s proximity to the Clydesdale Valley.

“We wish to celebrate the role of these mighty animals in the livelihoods of the people who worked the land in Lanarkshire,” said a spokesman.

READY STEADY GALLOP! runs from 25 June to 6 September.

Martha Terry

H&H features editor

Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on dogs of all shapes and sizes. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs, one a street dog from Gambia who was abandoned at three weeks old. Now, her constant companion, whether by her feet at her desk or walking cross-country courses, is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.