Annual event brings hundreds to Lexington
By Barb Pert Templeton
If it’s the second Saturday in December it means just one thing in downtown Lexington, the Old Fashion Christmas Horse Parade will welcome crowds to the streets in the afternoon.
The 12th annual parade is set for this Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. and event Coordinator Mary Heiden is pleased to report that it will be bigger than ever with over 100 horses along the route.
The parade has been shortened a bit this year because people were leaving early posing an issue with the animals and the parade route riders simply trying to avoid their vehicles. Heiden said the new route steps off at the corner of Peck Road and Union or Huron streets before the group heads right downtown passing all the shops before returning to the original starting point.
“And we host this parade rain or shine, sleet or hail we’re on the trail, we’ve never canceled this so far,” Heiden said.
Yes, even donkeys, mules and miniature horses take part in the parade.
Having 100 horses for the 2023 event is a positive uptick from the past several years right after the pandemic when numbers fell a bit. Heiden said she extended an invite to 4-H groups, equestrian teams and equine animal rescue organizations and many signed up to join the parade.
The animal participant list includes the horses, plus donkeys, mules and both miniature and draft horses taking their places along the parade route. Heiden explained that it’s not unusual for local beef and cattle farmers to own donkeys who help keep their cattle in line. The donkeys also provide security for the cows, standing ready to attack any coyotes that threaten the herd, she added.
The popularity of the unique parade, with crowds lining up four and five deep in the streets each year is something Heiden attributes to the event location.
“I think it’s because it’s set in the quaint little town of Lexington where there’s a general store with a floor that still creaks and the big Christmas tree is right downtown,” Heiden said. “It’s just the whole ambience of Lexington.”
Costumes, worn by both animal owners and the animals themselves, remains another big crowd pleaser. There are walkers and riders and they may show up dressed as Santa, the Grinch, angels and princesses or any number of characters.
Looks like a pack of dogs or Dalmatians came out to the parade in 2022.
“It’s like Halloween for the horses, we dress them up and then the people are dressed up and it’s just so much fun,” Heiden said.
Beyond organizing the event, Heiden’s very own four miniature horses, Stormy, Tigger, Cowboy and Firefly, will be led along the parade route by members of a local 4-H group. She said they will definitely get into the spirit of the occasion, donning their own special costumes.
“Oh, they’ll be dressed up with jingle bells, bows in their hair and something on their feet,” Heiden laughed.
The fact that the parade takes place minus the usual things like floats, bands and motor vehicles is also attractive to people, especially families with small children.
“This is just nice and quiet with the clop clop of the horses along the road,” Heiden said.
Keeping things on the calmer side is important to those leading the horses through the streets because if there was candy being tossed out or bands added to the lineup it could easily spook the horses.
To date, Heiden is happy to report that they have not had any mishaps with the parade or the animals taking part in it.
As for the inevitable instances of the animals getting calls from mother nature along the street, a small group of volunteers take over at the parade’s conclusion to clean-up the roadway.
“Volunteers handle it at the end of the parade including in the staging areas too,” Heiden said, noting that a local Bed and Breakfast asks that the horse poop be donated to them each year so they can fertilize their garden.
For more information about Lexington Old Fashion Christmas Horse Parade, visit their Facebook page with the same name.
