Celebrating horses in the Stampede Parade
| Human interest |
By LeRae Haynes
‘Horse appeal’ is a big part of the magic of the Williams Lake Stampede Parade—something that represents a cornerstone Williams Lake’s history. In this year’s parade there will be draft horses and buggies, groups on horseback and a custom-built stagecoach driven by Merv Furlong.
(Mervin Furlong delighted seniors with his mare and 10-day-old foal at recent draft horse rides in Williams Lake.)
Equine Parade Marshall Rene Leclerc has been helping with horses at the parade for nearly 10 years. “I worked with Ward Stangoe and when he took over the parade, and he asked me to help out with the ‘horse part of it,’” he said. “You get all these people around horses and you have to be careful with things like placing and timing.”
He said that at one point horse entries in the parade dwindled and the parade committee heard about it. “The community wanted horses in the parade and that was that,” he explained.
“In the parade you have things like clowns and loud vehicles—things that can spook a horse. A lot of entries are two-part, with vehicle and horse components to them, and it all has to be coordinated. Not like it’s carved in stone, though,” he continued. “There are always last-minute changes.”
He said that as a rule people are great with their horses and that it always works out well.
Rene said that one of the highlights of this year’s parade is Karen Sepkowski from the Cariboo Draft Horse Club driving a wagon carrying BC Premier Christy Clark.
Merv Furlong is a founding member of the Draft Horse Club, which started in 1986. He explained that the brand new stage coach he will drive in the parade was hand-made by Jim Dyck—everything but the wheels and the brake system. “It’s being stored at Chemo RV in 150 Mile House which is appropriate, given that it was one of the original ‘mobile homes,’” he stated.
“It will be pulled in the parade by two horses, but years ago they were pulled with four horses: a ‘lead’ team and a ‘heel’ team.”
He said that having horses in the Stampede Parade is as natural as breathing and that people love to see them. “So many of us have horses in our history and horses in our lives,” he continued.
“I grew up around horses and don’t know what I’d do without them. Horses, ranching and rodeos are our history in Williams Lake and seeing them in the parade is a reminder of where we come from and why we’re here.”
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