Tonight was the South Ogden Days Parade and I got a teenage friend of mine who has no fear to try Annie out. The South Ogden Parade is a VERY scary parade, mostly because you ride through a part of town where people are very unfamiliar with horses and don't know they can spook and therefore are not careful with stuff like balloons, skateboards and bikes, water guns, loose dogs and other assorted critters (there was some dude with a HUGE boa constrictor that we passed quite close to) and screaming children darting into the middle of the street holding white plastic bags (for the candy), plus we are also usually escorted by the South Ogden motorcycle and bike cops with full lights flashing and sirens; if a horse will handle the South Ogden, it will handle ANY parade.
I didn't get to see how Annie did as Charly and I were in front of the group I was riding with carrying the American Flag, but my friend says she didn't spook and for most of the parade she wasn't even holding onto the reins, she just dropped them on Annie's neck and let her go down the street while she waved at the crowd! She says the only thing that even worried Annie was a bit of silver ribbon on the street; she says Annie looked at it a second or two like, "Should I be worried about that?" then sighed and kept right on walking.
And Charly! What an angel she is! I think that this was the scariest parade we've ever done (every year it seems like the crowd gets louder and more frenzied, the South Ogden residents sure do love their little parade, plus the announcer had the loudspeakers turned up full blast, you could feel them vibrate as he was saying the spiel about our riding group and they CRACKLED), and she usually spooks just a little at stuff on the ground like candy or ribbons, or manhole covers. No spooking from Charly at ANYTHING. Not even a sideways glance! She did get a little worried when I first picked up the flag (I had to pick it up and set it in the flag boot myself once I was mounted, there was no one around to hand it to me), but then she kind of went, "Duh that's the flag, we've carried that before!" and didn't even give it a second thought, even though I was having issues getting the darn thing in the flag boot (that sucker's heavy!).
Well, my mom has decided she wants to try a parade with Annie (she did ride in a parade several years ago on Dusty), and she wants to go get a patriotic shirt similar to mine and ride in the 4th of July and the Horse and Hitch Parade which kicks off the Ogden Pioneer Days celebration. Well, why not? I think she'll be as safe as anyone can be riding in a parade (I personally think parades are the most dangerous thing you can do with a horse).
A friend has asked if I will ride in her little hometown parade with her on the 4th; she asked if I could carry the Flag again and she would carry the Utah State Flag, and my mom could ride with us. I think that will be a much less stressful parade than this one; much smaller, and people from that area are much more used to horses, so nothing that my mom couldn't handle, I don't think. And if necessary, if Annie for some reason decides to act silly, she can ride Charly who hardly ever puts a foot wrong in a parade (other than the Horse and Hitch last year where we were almost to the end and she farted and spooked herself, but hey, no horse is perfect!) and I will ride Annie.
My mom also wants to ride in the Horse and Hitch on the 13th of July, which is nothing but horses; again, a much lower key parade. I've been warned we are doing the Hawaiian theme with the grass skirts and cocoanut bras and flowers for the horses for that one (I have a crab and lobster that pin to my saddle blanket and a parrot for the saddle horn). : ) My mom says she refuses to wear a cocoanut bra, though, although she grudgingly agreed to a Hawaiian shirt. ; )
Yeah, I know, I'm nuts. But it ain't summer to me without the parades! I love 'em, they're a blast!
Meezer, tell me again why you are a nervous wreck on a trail ride?????????????????????????? That is fantastic. A parade is so fun an exciting. The ones here in Tucson, however, are very tighly marshalled and policed, as we have had some serious accidents and a death of a child 2 years ago. All involved runaway wagons. So please watch out for those wagon horses. Once they take off, they don't stop until they run into something or someone. Your parade sounded like the biggest test any horse could have. You all did great. Congratulations. PS: You'd never get me in a coconut bra, either! When I dismounted at the end of our parade, the horn caught on my shirt and ripped it open. Coconut bra ..... hmmmm....... I don't think so!!!!!!!!! ----------
Dixie Mom
"The art of riding: Keeping a horse between you and the ground!"
