I know what you are saying, Ruth and, you are right to a huuuge degree. I'm not going to carry on ad nauseum about this - as you say, it is an annual event and will be over soon, until next year.   And I DO NOT want to see it disappear as an event. But, I would like to comment, that, although this was the highest profile example of animal mishandling / cruelty that happened - please don't think it was the only one. Yes - there are institutionalised cases of cruelty - Greyhound Racing being one. Appleby is not an icing sugared tradition. It is a living one - with probably more burrs on its edge than most. In its own way, it, too is an institution.