I was on a visit when a boy at a farmhouse situated
near Fowey river. Well do I remember the farmer with much sorrow telling us
one morning at breakfast, that "the piskie people had been riding Tom again;"
and this he regarded as certainly leading to the destruction of a fine young
horse. I was taken to the stable to see the horse. There could be no doubt
that the animal was much distressed, and refused to eat his food. The mane
was said to be knotted into fairy stirrups; and Mr -- told me that he had
no doubt at least twenty small people had sat upon the horse's neck. He even
assured me that one of his men had seen them urging the horse to his utmost
speed round and round one of his fields.
Source : Hunt, Robert, editor (1807-1887).
Popular Romances of the West of England: Or the Drolls, Traditions, and
Superstitions of Old Cornwall. 2nd Ed. 1871. London: John Camden, page
87.