Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511170063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On Dec. 2, Jim Rogers will mount his tricolor painted quarter horse and ride in the Blacksburg and Christiansburg Christmas parades.
By then, he'll already have ridden in Rocky Mount's parade on Nov. 26, and he'll be preparing for parades in Floyd on Dec. 3 and Pulaski on Dec. 7.
But you won't see the Southeast Roanoke resident trotting in any holiday procession really close to home.
Roanoke Valley parades will be crammed with floats, fire trucks and marchers. But organizers in Roanoke, Salem and Vinton got together in 1993 and barred horses.
In two of the localities, it's because a few riders showed up drunk and fought with each other. In Vinton, a couple of riders even carried guns once.
Rogers, 35, said those riders weren't from groups he's associated with, the Circle R Ranch and Pleasure Hollow Farm.
The ban is unfair to responsible riders who spend time, effort and money on the parades solely for the pleasure of spectators, he said. Rogers has ridden in parades since age 9.
"A few bad apples shouldn't spoil the whole thing for everybody else," Rogers said Thursday as he groomed his horse, Apache Warrior, at his Riverdale Road home.
"It's not a parade without horses," agrees Sandy McQuilkin, another longtime local parade rider. "The kids just love them. We dress them up for Christmas - bows in their manes, bells on their feet. Some riders would dress up like a Santa Claus."
Roanoke Valley parade sponsors are holding firm. They acknowledge that the problem riders are few in number. But they represent a safety threat to spectators who line up on streets.
Besides, said Rebecca Schuck, executive secretary at the Salem Chamber of Commerce, "you can't let one [rider] in but not the other." The chamber sponsors Salem's parade.
"Probably two years ago, [organizers from Salem, Roanoke and Vinton] all got together, including police departments, and decided not to let them in," Schuck said. "We've had a lot of problems. ... All of the parades have. We've had fights from horse owners in the past. Some of them come intoxicated."
She recalled one instance a few years ago when an obviously drunken horseman rode his horse sidesaddle and veered toward the crowd on the sidewalk.
"The kids were really afraid,'' Schuck said. ``The parents were pulling their kids off the street when this man and his horse were coming by."
"I like horses, and I think most everybody does," said Jim Reynolds, president of the Vinton Chamber of Commerce. "But we've had several things occur over the years that have left us frustrated with horse entrants."
Three years ago, Reynolds witnessed a fistfight between two riders. Another year, a couple of riders were packing pistols, although Reynolds said he didn't know if the weapons were loaded.
``We just said, `Enough is enough.'''
The only horses in the Vinton parade this year will be pulling a wagon entered by the Virginia Museum of Transportation.
Gary Leah, a Patrick Henry High School teacher who assists the school's Distributive Education Club in sponsoring the Roanoke Parade of Lights, said he was unaware of any injuries, fights or drunken riders in Roanoke's parade.
"For about the past five years, we've been concerned that each time there is a parade, there are one or two incidents I've seen - the horse gets too close to the crowd or lunges from the backfire of a vehicle.
"In a parade, you can't control the sound," Leah said. "In Roanoke, we've been very fortunate there haven't been any injuries. ... I really do appreciate [riders'] concerns. Because some of these people really do put out a lot of effort."
CHRISTMAS PARADES
ROANOKE VALLEY
Vinton Christmas Parade: Thursday, Nov. 30, 7 p.m. Begins at Roanoke County Career Center (the old William Byrd Junior High School). Ends at the Vinton War Memorial. Route: Washington Avenue to Pollard Street; Pollard to Cleveland Avenue; Cleveland to Maple; Maple to Washington; Washington to the War Memorial.|
Salem Christmas Parade:
Friday, Dec. 1, 6:30 p.m. Begins on West Main Street near the Salem Ice Cream Parlor. Ends at Andrew Lewis Middle School. Route: West Main Street to College Avenue; College Avenue to the middle school.|
Roanoke Festival of Lights Parade: Saturday, Dec. 2, 6:30 p.m. Begins at Victory Stadium. Ends at Third Street and Campbell Avenue. Route: north on Jefferson Street to Campbell Avenue; west on Campbell to Third Street.
by CNB