About Our Logo
The logo of the West Berkshire Racing Club (WBRC) is based upon the White Horse of Uffington.
The White Horse of Uffington is cut into the chalk slopes of an Iron Age hill fort called Uffington Castle. It lies about 1.5 miles (2.4km) south of the village of Uffington on the Berkshire Downs (although this is now in Oxfordshire), and about 16 miles (26km) north-west of Newbury Racecourse, where the West Berkshire Racing Club is based.
The image is a stylised representation of a horse (or possiby a dragon) some 374 feet (114m) in length. The White Horse of Uffington is Britain’s oldest and most famous hill figure and is believed to be up to 3000 years old.There are many theories about how it came about: perhaps it is an ancient god or tribal symbol, the Celtic horse goddess Epona, or a religious icon to represent fertility.
Folklore also suggests that the figure represents the dragon killed by St George, an event thought to have taken place on nearby Dragon Hill.
Also nearby is a steep sided valley known as The Manger, where the horse was said to feed on moonlit nights.
Every seven years the horse was 'scoured' under the control of the local Lord, who had to fund the event. This event became a festival lasting several days, with games, wrestling , cheese rolling, and other activities. The festival lapsed in the 19th Century and the Horse became very overgrown.
The horse has now been fully restored and is cared for by English Heritage.