The "Horse" as it is known locally, commemorates the Hornshole victory in 1514 when Hawick's inhabitants avenged their soldiers who had died in the Battle of Flodden the year before, when the English massacred the Scots. During the commemorative Common Riding ceremony the "Cornet" in top hat and a green riding coat, perched on the top of a ladder, hangs blue and gold ribbons on the statue.