Jeffrey Forbes’ legs hung on either side of a chestnut-coloured donkey as it galloped down the crowd-lined streets of Carrot Bay on Friday. He held a switch in one hand and the reins in the other, looking at ease as he bounded down the road.
“I’ve been riding donkeys since I was young,” he said after the race. “I was 12 when I started riding them by myself — but much younger, 5 years old, when I would ride with my grandmother.”
The veteran donkey rider, along with a few others, took part in the Carrot Bay Cultural Fiesta’s donkey races on Friday, one of many events during the three-day celebration.
Mr. Forbes, whose cousin Clifton also participated, said when he was a boy he would often ride a donkey from Sea Cows Bay to Road Town with his grandmother. She would sell fruits, crafts and vegetables along the way.
“We’d go from house to house selling things like bananas, mangos and guineps,” he said. “We’d have so many guineps we’d send some to St. Thomas.”
See the Aug. 16, 2012 edition for full coverage.
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