Saddle Horse Downtown Parade offers an equestrian spectacle

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Competing against the opening day for the Junior Giants, this year’s crowd for the Saddle Horse Downtown Parade on June 22 was a little thinner, but once it began with a herd of enormous cattle plodding down San Benito Street, all eyes were on the spectacle. 

Hollister’s classic small-town parade had over 50 entries including riders from previous saddle horse shows, the stars and queens of local rodeos and community members marching for the crowd.

The cattle were mostly on their best behavior, other than two steers that seemed to be settling a personal grudge. Once they returned to their trailers and were escorted away, the parade began in earnest with the procession led by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9242 Honor Guard.

The parade offered a cross-section of the Hollister community, with marching bands, like the Tri-City Band Corps’ Royal Regiment and Hollister High School’s Scarlet Regiment, the mobile lunacy of E Clampus Vitus, entries on roller skates and bikes from the Faultline Derby Devilz and Off the Chain Bikes, the stars of “Matilda,” San Benito Stage Company’s current production.

Sport teams including the Hollister Vikings, the Tremors and the Earthquakes, plus traditional dancers such as Grupo Carisma Mexicano also participated.

But the heart of the show, of course, were the horses and riders, such as the traditionally costumed Escaramuza y Charros El Centenario and Quadrille Queens, the working horses from Ranchos Santa Fe and Vargas, and the choreographed precision of riders like the Salinas Valley Charros, Felipe Preciado and Friends and Cuadra Exclusiva. Along the way were rodeo clowns, visiting queens including Miss California Rodeo Salinas, Miss Gilroy Rodeo, Miss King City, and our own queen, Emily Drost, and her color guard. 

The Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo opens June 28 at 6:30 p.m. and continues through June 30 at Bolado Park. The park is also hosting a wine and beer tasting on June 28 at 4:00 p.m., a Cowboy BBQ Dinner, Dance and Auction on June 29 at 5:30 p.m. There will also be a vendor tent displaying art and tack open daily. 

The official lineup for the parade had 51 entries.  

1. Cattle Drive

2. VFW Honor Guard

3. Watsonville Community Band

4. Saddle Horse Show Queen Color Guard

5. Ausaymus 4-H

6. Hollister Police Department

7. Cooper’s Calling

8. San Benito Search and Rescue

9. Ranch Santa Fe

10. Gilroy Rodeo

11. Girl Scouts of San Benito County

12. Rancho El Sabino

13. California Rodeo Salinas

14. Rancho Castillo

15. Escaramuza y Charros El Centenario

16. San Benito County Cattlewomen

17. SDES Portuguese Hall

18. Hollister High School Scarlet Regiment

19. E Clampus Vitus Monterey Viejo 1846

20. San Benito County Polytechnic Academy

21. Merced County Sheriff’s Posse

22. Agricultural History Project

23. Tremors Earthquakes, Girls U11

24. Quadrille Queens

25. Charlie Alamo

26. Grupo Carisma Mexicano

27. Cuadra Exclusiva

28. San Benito County Clerk

29. County of San Benito Supervisors

30. Footsteps

31. Los Andariegos

32. Salinas Valley Fair

33. Hollister Vikings Youth Football

34. Tri-City Band Corps’ Cadet Marching band

35. Charles Davis

36. Felipe Preciado and friends

37. Off the Chain Bikes

38. San Benito Stage Company

39. American Medical Response

40. Visiting Rodeo Royalty

41. King City Stampede Pro Rodeo

42. San Benito County Public Health Services

43. Rancho Vargas

44. Faultline Derby Devilz

45. Hitland Ministries

46. Mark Costa Wagon and Clydesdales

47. Community FoodBank of San Benito

48. Tri-City Band Corps’ Royal Regiment

49. San Benito Agricultural Land Trust

50. Salinas Valley Charros

51. Hollister Fire Department

You can learn more about the horse show and rodeo here.

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