THOUSANDS of people from across the country came to Westbury last weekend to catch a glimpse of the courageous few who hurtled themselves down the hill near the White Horse in custom-build carts as part of Westbury’s second annual White Horse Soapbox Derby.
The free event, that was billed as the steepest and most challenging course in the UK and organised by Westbury Town Council, proved to be extremely popular with attendees as over 6,500 people filled the field next to the White Horse Equestrian Centre to catch the soapbox racers weaving in between the obstacles in an attempt to be crowned the champion.
17 teams, made up of amateurs and engineers, competed against each other and this year’s overall winner was team Accellaramus, who finished third last year. Also at the event was the Junior Soapbox where young people raced high spec remote controlled cars against each other on a purpose-built track. Will was the winner of the fastest lap and Lucas won the Open Category and was runner-up of the fastest lap.
There was plenty of entertainment for people to enjoy throughout the day as the Westbury Festival stage hosted performances from the Madness cover band, Complete Madness, as well as performances from Ushti Baba, JFB, Biggie Tallz and Hit Or Miss.
Westbury Town Council’s events manager, Ryan Child, said, “The town council is so happy that such a large number of people came to our free event. A huge thank you to the White Horse Equestrian Centre for the use of their field.
“This event can only happen with the support of sponsors that share our vision to provide an epic community event for the town and wider area, providing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) subjects to young people in an exciting way, offering traders the chance to sell their goods and a selection of music of the highest quality.”
The Westbury mayor, cllr Mike Sutton, added, “If we thought last year’s Soapbox Derby was a great event then this year’s event surpassed all expectations with increased attendance and even better facilities and entertainment.
“After weeks of distinctly murky weather, the clouds relented, and it was day of sunshine and enjoyment. I would like to thank those town councillors who gave up their time collecting rubbish and manning the tent and other duties and our wonderful staff who managed the event on the day and whose hard work and planning ensured we could put on such an event here in our town.
“Thank you especially to the people of Westbury who attended the event in such numbers, whose enthusiasm and good humour enabled the day to go so smoothly. We have a high standard to match next year but next up is the Chilli Festival in September.”
Check out the White Horse Soapbox Derby Facebook page for further details of the event.
