Around 49,500 onlookers lined the processions with a total of 1,475 horses. Nine trains in the Sorbian settlement area northeast of Dresden visited 44,000 people.
Around 5,500 followed the traditional sowing riders in Ostritz, south of Görlitz. The roots of the custom go back to pre-Christian times, when it was believed that field rides could protect young seeds from evil. Today's trains are a public declaration of the Christian faith - only men are allowed to sit in the saddle.