Traditions - The Harwell Horse
More famous than Red Rum, the Harwell Horse spread fear amongst home and away sides in equal measure. It traveled to away games, made guest appearances at pubs on the way back but always felt most at home in the social club with a belly full of Morelands.
The original horse was created [need some input here please folks ... who, when, where]. It consisted of a hollow glass horse on a glass tube, which was fixed to the bottom of a [need some input here folks .... pint and a half?] beer glass. The horse's mouth was open and the unfortunate recipient of the horse (usually the person who made the worst cock-up on the pitch that day) had to drink the entire contents through the horses mouth, in one go, standing on a chair and to the memorable strains of "Why was he born so beautiful, why was he born at all .....".
Novices would suck and suck for minutes at a time until they eventually gave up, humiliated, filled with beer bubbles, bloated and unable to manage even half of the contents. Veterans would then step forward and empty the horse in seconds turning the glass upside down in a final flurry so as not to leave even a drop inside the bottom of the straw. The secret was the horses ass! It had a small hole in it, which if not blocked by the suckers finger would prevent a good vacuum and turn the horse contents to froth!
The original horse disappeared at [Cheltenham Civil Service? in 19??] and was replaced by a replica in [19??]. This horse was broken, remaining out of service for [many] years. Up steps the equestrian hero, Paul Browning, who surprised the first HOBs reunion on March 3rd, 2012 with a repaired and fully functioning horse.
The tradition lives on!
Unless anyone knows any better, the record time of 19 seconds for the original horse is held jointly by Pete Duffy and Andy Langman. The women's undisputed champion and the only known woman to drink a horse full of Guinness is Alanah (Lan) Fergusson.
Photo 1: 1978 - A 21-year old Nick Millett in a valiant attempt on the horse
Notice the already slackened belt in readiness for the inevitable post-horse bloatage!
Photo 2: However, a close up reveals poor horse's ass technique and a resultant neck full of air!
To see a slideshow of the pictures click here