Ninety-seven riders join Sarleinsbach’s 87th Leonhard ride

Ninety-seven riders took part in Sarleinsbach’s 87th Leonhard ride on Sunday, honouring Saint Leonhard, the patron saint of horses, ORF reported. The procession through the Rohrbach district drew numerous visitors and is considered a highlight of the region’s autumn.

In foggy weather, riders asked for a blessing for their animals in the procession, held on the Sunday after Leonhard’s feast day on November 6. The horses were specially decorated with fresh flowers and braided manes.

“If you have animals and a farm, taking part is part of it. And it is an honour to ride,” said Sabine Fuchs, a farmer from Atzesberg.

Parish priest Franz Lindorfer has ridden in the event for 19 years. “For me, this is the only day of the year I sit on a horse. I cannot ride, but I trust that I will be guided safely,” he said.

The procession runs from the market to the village district of St. Leonhard. Emperor Joseph II had the former Leonhard church dissolved in the late 18th century; a small Leonhard Chapel now commemorates it. A field service in honour of the patron saint of horses is held in front of the chapel.

Saint Leonhard is regarded in Austria and Bavaria as the patron saint of cattle and horses. Processions through fields have taken place since the Middle Ages, particularly in parishes dedicated to the saint. The custom declined as mechanisation reduced the role of livestock in farm work, but animal-blessing celebrations were revived in some places in the first half of the 20th century.