Comments on: Dobby Horse

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 04:40:01 +0000

A few of my friends and I went to Canobie Lake Park. We are in our lat 40s ! I must say we had a blast! I am from the Merrimack valley (North Andover) and the rest of my friends are were from southern New Hampshire ,they had such fun ,making fun of me because I called the merri-go-round dobby horses and the dodgems (bumper cars). That I started to doubt my self! Sort of, But I was sure relieved to come home and go on line Jjust to be correct in my own little way!

By: katy

katy — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:07:11 +0000

Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts had the greatest “dobby horses” of all. When they were moved to San Diago I felt that was the end of Salisbury Beach for me but when I saw the restored and beautiful dobby horses in San Diago I knew they had found a great home. I’m also from Irish decent and to me they will always be the dobby horses.

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:29:15 +0000

Hi,
I can remember as a young child in Oakland Beach, Warwick, RI, my family use to walk down to the water area to ride the “dobby horses”. We use get clamcakes and doughboys as a treat too.
Very pleasant memories.

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:59:43 +0000

i thought this may also shed a little light as hobby horse was also mentioned and looking at this i thought that it could be also a cross over word hobby horse or dobbin a generic english name for a horse as explained here
The word hobby is glossed by the OED as “a small or middle-sized horse; an ambling or pacing horse; a pony.” The word is attested in English from the 14th century, as Middle English hobyn. Old French had hobin or haubby, whence Modern French aubin and Italian ubino. But the Old French term is apparently adopted from English rather than vice versa. OED connects it to “the by-name Hobin, Hobby”, a variant of Robin” (compare the abbreviation Hob for Robert). This appears to have been a name customarily given to a cart-horse, as attested by White Kennett in his Parochial Antiquities (1695), who stated that “Our ploughmen to some one of their cart-horses generally give the name of Hobin, the very word which Phil. Comines uses, Hist. VI. vii.” Another familiar form of the same Christian name, Dobbin has also become a generic name for a cart-horse.

Samuel Johnson, Dictionary of the English Language, 1755, glosses “A strong, active horse, of a middle size, said to have been originally from Ireland; an ambling nag.”

Hoblers or Hovellers were men who kept a light nag that they may give instant information of threatened invasion. (Old French, hober, to move up and down; our hobby, q.v.) In mediæval times their duties were to reconnoitre, to carry intelligence, to harass stragglers, to act as spies, to intercept convoys, and to pursue fugitives. Henry Spelman (d. 1641) derived the word from “hobby”.

“Hobblers were another description of cavalry more lightly armed, and taken from the class of men rated at 15 pounds and upwards.” – John Lingard: The History of England, (1819), vol. iv. chap. ii. p. 116.
The Border horses, called hobblers or hobbies, were small and active, and trained to cross the most difficult and boggy country, “and to get over where our footmen could scarce dare to follow.” – George MacDonald Fraser, The Steel Bonnets, The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers.

A major pastime of Henry VIII (1491–1547) was that of horse racing. In those days, horses were known as hobbies. The term “hobby” then became to be associated with any pastime.

other meaning

From “hobby horse” came the expression “to ride one’s hobby-horse”, meaning “to follow a favourite pastime”, and in turn, the modern sense of the term Hobby.

The term is also connected to the draisine, a forerunner of the bicycle, invented by Baron Karl von Drais. In 1818, a London coach-maker named Denis Johnson began producing an improved version, which was popularly known as the “hobby-horse

hope this helps

By: Patty

Patty — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:23:54 +0000

My husband just asked me, “Why would your mother call the merry-go-round” the darby horses? She actually has always called it the “dobby” horses, but I thought I was being smooth by covering up her RI accent. I laughed when I read this article, especially since my parents used to also go to Cresent Park. She is also of Irish/Scottish descent. Very interesting and now I can answer the question about her calling the merry-go-round the dobby horses.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:40:04 +0000

Playing the game Scattagories with the kids, the category was something in an amusement park that starts with a D. I had no idea how to spell “dobby” horse, but recalled that my parents (of some scottish and english decent) called the merry go round by that name. Fun to see the background here and the comments.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:40:53 +0000

My Irish-American grandparents (born in 1899 and 1901 respectively in Providence, RI) used to travel down to Crescent Park in Riverside, RI to ride the “dobby horses,” beautifully carved horses on a magnificent carousel in the summer. My parents went there when they were children and in turn took me when I was a child. I have taken my children there. All of the amusement park has been torn down but the carousel was saved and you can go every summer when it is open several days a week. I highly recommend it–the carousel is beautiful and riding it is a trip back in time.

By: Pat Fournier

Pat Fournier — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:17:11 +0000

My mother was born in Ireland and it was a
great treat for the family to go to Lincoln Park Amusement Park in Masachusetts. I always wanted to ride the “Dobby horses”, as she called them. They did go up and down and forward and back, but not at the speed indicated in the above article. Why, 65 years later, did I wonder where the name came from? I don’t know. But I looked it up and confirmed what I thought the source
was. Fun to discover meanings and now I am satisfied.

By: David

David — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:54:16 +0000

The Derby is run at Epsom (in Surrey) and in England both the town of Derby and the race are alway pronounced but never spelt Darby.