There were almost as many lions as horses on Hawick Common Riding’s Mosspaul rideout at the weekend.
It was thanks to a line-up of Scottish rugby legends who had agreed to accompany former Kelso international flanker, Eric Paxton, who is walking the main horse rides of the region’s common ridings and festivals in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
His first trek was on Saturday, to coincide with the Mosspaul rideout, when he was accompanied on the first leg of his 31-mile hike by former British Lions and Scotland players Jim Renwick, Roger Baird, Roy Laidlaw, John Rutherford, Rob Wainright, David Johnston, Jim and Finlay Calder, Iain Milne and David Lesley.
Ex-Kelso Laddie Paxton is hoping to cover 250 miles over the summer and from that first event has already raised £2,500.
“It went really well. The weather was fantastic and we got great support from people in Hawick,” Paxton told us.
“When we came back into Hawick on the Saturday evening, following the horses, we got an incredible welcome.
“The next event will be later this month with the Stobstanes rideout.”
Paxton intially had hoped his charity challenge would raise at least £3,000, but says after the fantastic amount of money raised from the Mosspaul event, he is now just trying to raise as much as possible.