Blowzabella

I'd really like to bow out of this, my head's starting to hurt but I can't let this pass.

Are you suggesting that it is absolutely inherent

Certainly not. You started the ball rolling with a thread title that implied that this single incident brought the whole future of the fair into question. Others, for whom Grimmy now seems to have become the principle flag bearer, set about digging out more and more evidence to try and prove that cruelty is endemic. Much of this was hearsay or irrelevant (cruelty to fire engines?) or poorly documented. Grimmy seems to have been the only witness to the crowbar incident. Why do travellers' horses killed in traffic accidents miles from Appleby give evidence of cruelty at the fair?

The comparison with more "respectable" horse events shows that Appleby is, in fact, remarkably safe. The determination to find yet more evidence of cruelty, no matter how obscure, suggests to me that attacking Appleby is more important to some people than preventing cruelty to horses.

I gave Grimmy the opportunity to clarify his position and he descended into personal abuse.