The Inventory Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the Netherlands contains ICH of which the communities, groups or individuals involved have written a safeguarding plan. Those plans are reviewed by an independent review committee. Every three years an evaluation of the safeguarding takes place.

Description

Since the seventies, during the Festive Day Hillegom, on the Friday preceding the third Tuesday of September, the Short Track Harness Race is held. The children have that day off, so they can participate in the game circuit at the swimming pool. Early in the morning, the Meerlaan is closed off and the 310-metre track is prepared with sand, crash barriers and electronic equipment for a fair start and finish. The stables in Prinses Marijkestraat will be set up for the participating horses, where a vet and a farrier will also be present throughout the day.

At 2 pm the harness race starts, while the judges see to it that there is a clean trot. The short track is run under detailed race rules; a horse that starts too early, gallops or trots irregularly will be eliminated. Cash and honour prizes are available for the six best placed horses. Betting on horses is a fixed part of the short track, where the amount won depends on the own stake, the total stake and the number of people who have made the same bet. 

When, after the final race, the Meerlaan is cleared, the prizes will be presented by the mayor during a meeting of participants, sponsors and 'Friends of the Harness Race Association'.

The Short Track Harness Race Hillegom is part of an extensive series of events, which take place during 9 days for all groups of the population. The programme of the autumn Festival starts a week before the race with children's games in the Hoftuin, the garden of the town hall. There, children can win fairground tickets, which can later be redeemed at the fair. On Saturday, the biggest events are baton twirling, the toddlers' athletics competition and Fun in the Park. Sunday is ring-tilting and the cycle race, and in the evening there is a large fireworks display to close the fair.

Community

The members of the Harddraverijvereniging (Harness Race Association) are participating in committees that are responsible for the organisation of the Autumn Festival and the Short Track Harness Race. The Harness Race Committee organises the Short Track Race and the associated intermediate programme, the Fairground Committee is responsible for the fairground and the Events Committee devises, renews and organises the games and events of the Autumn Festival. In the organisation of the Short Track Race, the drivers, trainers, stable staff and caretakers, the owners and the breeders are involved.

The management of the race is done by employees and volunteers of the NDR, the Stichting Nederlandse Draf- en Rensport in cooperation with the Hillegom (sports) associations, the scouting group and other volunteers.

History

The present Harddraverij Vereniging Hillegom en omstreken was founded in 1905.

Short track races were already organised for centuries in Hillegom and beyond, often in combination with a horse market or fair. In the beginning the races were organised by local entrepreneurs, mostly innkeepers. At the establishment of the harddraverijvereniging, the owners of hotel and restaurant Het Wapen van Friesland and hotel Flora were involved. Before the association was founded there was already a committee that organised harness racing. The goal of the Harddraverijvereniging was to organise a short track harness race every year. In 1910, the association already had 200 members.

Initially, the harness race was combined with a yearly market where traditional ‘oliebollen’, fish products and drinks were available. In the following years, popular games were added, which have grown into a full nine-day programme since the 1950s. With the introduction of a Luna Park with large attractions, which later became known as the funfair, a solid financial basis was laid for the continuity of the Autumn Festival and especially for the Short Track.

 In recent years, the traditional gentlemen's club has been modernised and there are also female members and board members. The renewal of the events is a constant process. For several years, there has been an intermediate programme during the break after the first round of the harness race, which is intended to attract young visitors to the race. Many of the approximately 65 events are organised in cooperation with the local associations. The information about the Hillegom Autumn Festival is provided by delivering the programme booklet door-to-door in Hillegom and Beinsdorp. 

Safeguarding

Safeguard actions

2020-2023

  • Both the internal and external communication to parties such as sponsors and inhabitants of Hillegom should be structured better. Therefore, communication will be a fixed item on the agenda of both the board and the association as a whole.
  • Annually the effectiveness will be evaluated, and new opportunities offered by the media will be investigated.
  • An activity plan and division of tasks are made for external communication and promotion, with annually recurring actions and corresponding deadlines.
  • To ensure the transfer of knowledge, age and experience are taken into account in the composition of committees and working groups.
  • A special committee will be set up in connection with the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.
  • The archive will be made accessible for both members and external parties.
  • The cooperation with the Hillegom club life will be evaluated annually with all members, on the initiative of the Events Committee. The recording of the yearly evaluation will be structured.
  • New inhabitants of the municipality Hillegom will be informed directly or indirectly about the Autumn Festival and the Short Track Harness Race, by sending the last programme booklet.
  • Consultation with school boards to perpetuate the continuity of the free Hillegom holiday for the primary schools and to extend it to the (in Hillegom established) secondary schools.
  • The association will appoint an expert to cope with the increasing pressure of laws and regulations, with the explicit task to support the association with expertise and hold up a mirror to it.
  • Efforts will be made to increase the number of friends to more than 1,000, partly by active recruitment by the promotion team, particularly during the Short Track.
  • The Short Track Committee of the Harddraverij Association, together with other members of the association and the municipality of Hillegom, must continually monitor the state of affairs in the field of animal welfare, alcohol consumption and public opposition to gambling.

Contact

Harddraverijvereniging Hillegom en omstreken
Spoorlaan, 1
2182CN
HILLEGOM
Nederland
Website