A herd of horses trotted through Memorial Park on Friday, Feb. 24 with Rodeo Trail Riders participating in the Downtown Rodeo Parade.
There are eleven trail rides that make their way to Houston for the Livestock Show and Rodeo. Most of the rides started last weekend and some of the groups traveled more than 100 miles.
Niki Henson is the owner of Iron Horse Guest Ranch and participated in one of the trail rides. She said the trail rides and tomorrow’s downtown parade are a fusion of city and country culture.
“We got to see lots and lots of children along the way, lot of smiling faces. People who may have never seen a horse before,” she said. “Never had the opportunity to experience the western culture or the way of life that we have or never even seen a wagon.”
Henson said their wagon tries to bring people who may not own a horse and have not experienced the trail before. More than 3,000 riders took part in the trail rides.
Jessie Nelson was another rider who was on the Texas Cattlemen’s Trailride. She said she’s been doing these trail rides almost since birth.
“Everybody always has a good time. Gives people a chance to come out and find out what we’re all about,” she said. “It’s all fun and everybody’s like family and takes care of one another.”
The Texas Cattlemen’s Trail Ride has participated in the Rodeo Trail Ride for 35 years. They travel 60 miles from Plantersville, Texas.
The Downtown Rodeo Parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. The Livestock Show and Rodeo gets underway on Tuesday.