Martin Wilkinson Master Saddler and Liveryman at the London Harness Horse Parade

Martin Wilkinson had always wanted a Pickering Float as they reminded him of his childhood on his grandfather’s farm in Derbyshire, when he and his family were always picked up from the station in one to begin their summer holidays on the farm.  When his partner Rosemary and Derek Wootton, a close friend, found one for sale to fit a pony the same size as their own, Martin jumped at the chance to buy it. It needed some restoration to be in show condition and Martin sent it away for the winter to be painted and restored as authentically as possible.  Then in February 2019 Martin and Rosemary attended the Charity Evening held at Saddlers Hall and got talking to the representatives of the London Harness Horse Parade.  And it was there that the idea was born to show the Pickering Float at the 2019 London Harness Horse Parade for its first outing.