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This page refers to a Riding as a unit in local government. For the more usual meaning, see horse and related articles
In terminology derived from the Danelaw, the Ridings are the
three parts into which Yorkshire in England was divided. The word is a corruption of the Old Norse
thriding meaning a third part. The Yorkshire Ridings were East, North and
West. Under the Kingdom Of York, the Ridings
themselves were sub-divided into wapentakes.
In 1974, the official status of this division was abolished (see Yorkshire),
although a local government body called the East Riding of Yorkshire was re-established in 1996.
County Tipperary in the Republic of Ireland is divided into two (not three) ridings, Tipperary North Riding and Tipperary South
Riding.
In the semiofficial jargon of Canadian politics, a
riding is a constituency or electoral district. The term
is derived from the English local government term, and has its roots
based on the fact that a member of parliament should be
able to ride via horseback, from the centre of his constituency to any one location that he represents in a single day.
See: Electoral district (Canada)
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