This story was initially printed in February 2024.
It’s not out of the atypical to often see individuals driving horses round Houston, slowly making their manner via a neighborhood or climbing a path in a park. Yearly, nevertheless, you will discover riders like this in every single place round city.
Since 1952, path rides have been converging on Houston yearly to rejoice the start of the Houston Livestock Present and Rodeo. Though the primary trip began out with solely 4 individuals, over 2,000 individuals now participate yearly within the custom. The unofficial heralders of rodeo season, you’ll see the riders make their manner into city on horseback the weekend earlier than the occasion, typically with wagons in tow, from cities like Goliad, Prairie View, and Brookshire. Some solely trip for a handful of days, whereas others’ journeys stretch for 2 weeks. Many have taken half within the customized for properly over 50 years.
“It’s a household custom,” says Miranda Sevcik, vice chair of Trailride PR, which coordinates all of the Houston Rodeo path riders. “You’ll see typically 4 or 5 generations of people that have performed them.”
After arriving in Houston, the 11 path driving teams all participate within the Downtown Rodeo Parade, a yearly custom in Houston since 1932.
When you’re left questioning if there’s an invasion of horse-and-buggy-loving time vacationers if you see a line of a number of hundred riders making their manner via the town, right here’s your explainer on all issues path trip.
About these driving teams…
Salt Grass, the oldest rodeo path driving group, was established 73 years in the past—it’s additionally the most important with 22 wagons and over 1,000 riders at the moment. The trip begins in Cat Spring and travels 105 miles to achieve Houston. Salt Grass has one of many oldest wagons, which was initially in-built 1800 and has been fully restored.
One other historic driving group, Prairie View, based in 1957, is the oldest Black path trip within the nation and the primary Black path trip for the Houston Rodeo. It units out from Hempstead yearly and covers 80 miles. The crew normally contains 9 wagons and over 300 riders.
The fanciest of all path rides is placed on yearly by the Valley Lodge crew. Based in 1959, the trip begins in Brookshire and travels 75 miles to achieve Houston. It sometimes contains 4 wagons and about 75 riders. Sevcik says it’s described because the “Champagne of path rides,” since dinner typically accommodates prime cuts like filet mignon.
In the meantime, the Mission trip holds the excellence of being the longest. Based in 1991, it begins in Goliad and travels 206 miles. Yearly, about 75 riders journey with 10 wagons.
The logistics
Fairly a little bit of planning goes into pulling off a profitable path trip. Though the rodeo has nothing to do with the planning, the separate teams do should submit their routes forward of time in order that they’re not all converging in Houston without delay and creating a large visitors jam. Sevcik and her crew begin working with every group about six months prematurely to verify they’ve their insurance coverage, that vets have cleared all of the animals, and that everybody is up to the mark on security.
“You may think about how harmful it may be with wagons and horses and riders touring down Houston streets,” Sevcik says. “However we’ve discovered that Houstonians, and even new guests to the town, are very affected person. It clearly causes visitors, however we’ve by no means had an issue the place somebody’s been indignant and honked their horn or purposely tried to scare the animals.”
Sevcik says the teams fastidiously set their routes to keep away from as many main roads as doable and create each day schedules which are all the way down to the minute. Since most of them have been doing these rides for many years, they’re consultants on how a lot of every part to carry.
“They’ve obtained it all the way down to a science,” Sevcik says. “They know precisely how a lot grain they want, precisely how a lot hay. They know precisely how a lot water they’ll want. Strolling as much as this fully ignorant, you’re overwhelmed, however they’ve been doing this for generations.”
Path trip roles
A very powerful member of every path trip is the path boss, who manages all of the members of the group and has a large checklist of tasks, from crew and animal security to route coordination, allowing, camp web site and provide administration, and sustaining a crew of scouts. The path boss normally rides on the entrance, main your complete procession alongside the chosen route.
It’s common for the position of path boss to be handed down from grandparent to dad or mum to little one. “It’s very a lot a legacy factor,” Sevcik says, noting that almost all path rides even have an assistant path boss in addition to a secretary.
Scouts additionally play important roles throughout rides. At all times on horseback, they journey far forward of the remainder of the riders and radio again info on any obstacles forward. If a massive impediment is encountered, like highway development, they’ll let the path boss know that their route must be adjusted.
Life on the path
Though many of the riders spend your complete day on horseback, their touring lodging are way more luxe than these of path riders a century in the past. Following the horse procession, a line of vans pulls moveable loos and campers.
Devoted cooking crews sometimes comply with behind in automobiles and are identified to throw collectively some fairly standout roadside fare. In 2024, the Mission crew cooked up maple-glazed pork tenderloin over saffron rice. “The meals is normally actually good,” she says. “I can’t converse for all of the rides, however that was legit the perfect pork tenderloin I’ve ever had in my life.”
Since it could possibly take over every week for a few of the rides to finish their journey, they should pre-arrange campsites for each night time of their journey. Sevcik says many will camp out on land owned by individuals they know or in parking heaps (with permission, in fact). Whereas lots of the riders choose to sleep in luxurious of their RVs, some resolve to do it the old style manner. “Some of us are the hardcore cowboys: They’ll sleep underneath the celebrities on their saddles,” she says.
Alongside the routes, and particularly because the crews inch nearer to Houston, they’ll begin making stops to work together and interact with the neighborhood. “They’ll cease at nursing properties, faculties, and neighborhood facilities,” Sevcik says. “They’ve particular person teams they meet with, and the individuals come out and pet the horses and be taught concerning the historical past. It’s actually neat. It’s like a touring ambassadorship for the rodeo via Texas.”
The top of the journey
The Friday earlier than the rodeo begins, all of the crews converge in Houston at Memorial Park, which closes to the general public on Thursday in preparation of their arrival. Sevcik says riders sometimes begin trickling in after midday on Friday, staggering their arrival instances in order to not trigger too many visitors snarls. As soon as they attain the park, all of them go to their separate camps and begin unpacking. Every trip has its personal designated space within the park, from a car parking zone to a big nook of the picnic loop.
Sevcik says watching the teams unload every part is her favourite half, significantly because of the antics of the draft horses, who are usually fairly blissful that their a number of days of pulling wagons have come to a conclusion. “I like to observe them take off their gear,” she says. “The horses simply throw themselves on the bottom as a result of their backs are itching. You’ll see these big horses simply rolling within the grass. It’s so enjoyable to observe.”
That night, all rides collect collectively at Memorial Park and judges current awards to the crews. Awards are given for the perfect small trip, finest medium trip, finest massive trip, and a few extra issues. Sevcik says the rides are judged on how secure they had been and the way diligent individuals had been with the western heritage they tried to convey, standards that may take note of whether or not all trip members wore cowboy boots, hats, and different applicable gear.
After the judging is finished, it’s time to socialize. “It’s kind of the tip of it,” Sevcik says. “They meet at one another’s camps. They’re all buddies. They’ve been doing this, , yearly for ceaselessly.” Whereas a few of rides throw modest celebration events, others are identified to incorporate DJs and many dancing.
The following day, all of them stand up early and line up for the ultimate journey of the yr, this time all collectively, as they trip down Memorial Drive and into downtown for the Downtown Rodeo Parade.
After the parade, all of them head again to Memorial and pack every part up. Sevcik says they should be fully out of the park by early that afternoon. “We’ve got to be out. I imply, not a speck of something left in that park. We’re very cautious to not go away a single cigarette butt or strand of hay or mound of horse poop,” she says. “At two o’clock on Saturday, every part is shut down and cleared out. It’s like nothing occurred. We make a bit of village on the market on Thursday, and by Saturday there’s not a hint.”
Happily, the journey house isn’t as arduous: As an alternative of driving all the way in which again, horses and wagons are loaded into trailers and are pushed house in a matter of hours.
