On 18 June 2010 Dr Samantha Hurn, Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Wales Lampeter, will embark on an historic ride along the medieval routeway known as The Monk’s Trod as part of the Department of Archaeology, History and Anthropology’s Strata Florida Project.
Sam will be undertaking the 25 mile ride from Strata Florida Abbey near Pontrhydfendigaid to Abbey Cwmhir near Rhayader with her partner, Alex Badman-King, on their two welsh cobs, Elvis (Felinfach Elvis) and Psyche (Teifi 10cc).
The idea for the ride came in response to a paper written by Sam’s colleague, Professor Andrew Fleming, Emeritus Professor in Archaeology at Lampeter. Professor Fleming has studied the Trod and speculated on the role played by horses both as markers of prestige and in facilitating communication between the two abbeys in the medieval period. He was particularly interested in the construction of the road in places, and has argued in a recent issue of the journal ‘Landscapes’ that sections of the Trod were built to make certain inaccessible areas passable for horse transport.
Sam and Alex will be accompanied on the ride by Rhayader-based farmer Huwie Davies who will act as a guide, and Lampeter graduate Eleanor Flaherty. Eleanor is a film maker who specializes in documenting Welsh traditions, and her film about horses in the Welsh valleys ‘The Horse: His Industry, Our Industry’ was a finalist at the 2010 Ffresh Film Awards. Eleanor will be making a documentary about the Trod ride.
The riders will leave Strata Florida on the 18 June 2010 which is the last day of the University’s annual archaeological excavation at the site (see www.strataflorida.org).
Sam’s research and teaching specialisations lie in the field of anthrozoology or human interactions with animals and she has spent the last two summers in South Africa working with another Lampeter colleague, Laurence Hall from the Department of Film and Media as part of the Great Primate Handshake studying conflict between humans and the few remaining troops of Chacma baboons on the Western Cape. However, as South Africa is hosting the 2010 World Cup this summer, the Handshake team have decided to postpone this year’s visit, leaving Sam with the chance to embark on a research project a bit closer to home.
“I am really excited about the Trod ride, but also have to confess to being slightly apprehensive as everyone I have spoken with has stressed how dangerous some of the sections of the route are. However, we have been lucky as lots of people have been very helpful, offering advice and sharing their experiences of riding over the Cambrians and we will be escorted some of the way by Huwie Davies who knows the area very well” said Sam.
She continued “We are also really fortunate to have Eleanor on board as this will provide a great opportunity to document Welsh cobs in what can only be described as their natural environment. Cobs have been bred in this area for centuries, and the available evidence from the medieval period suggests that it was horses very similar in type to the Welsh cob who were favoured as multi-purpose ride and drive animals by the Cistercian monks – and it is the cobs’ versatility which makes them so popular still today. It will be interesting to see how they manage to negotiate the Trod and to test out some of Andrew’s ideas about the underlying reasons for the road’s construction and course.”
The Cistercians placed great emphasis on active charity and, in a bid to keep this ideology alive, Sam and Alex are asking people who would like to support them as they attempt to complete the Monks’ Trod ride to make a donation via the project webpage to World Horse Welfare, formerly the International League for the Protection of Horses. The project is being supported by the University of Wales’ Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, Mountain Horse and the Bitless Bridle Equestrian Centre. For more information please see the project website: www.ridingthetrod.com or e-mail [email protected]
