CORONA NORCO : Horseback Congregation at Sunrise Service : Easter Worshipers Come Cantering

As the gray fog shroud over the La Sierra hills slowly grew brighter, a line of horses cantered up a dirt trail to the arena.

A white cross, planted in a rock-strewn hill above the horse ring, was nearly invisible to the riders who had come to celebrate Easter with their mounts at Norco’s 14th annual sunrise service in Ingalls Park.

The fog, said Alton Vance, pastor of Norco Christian Church, could only “add to the tone of what that morning (of the Resurrection) may have been like” for followers of Christ nearly 2,000 years ago.

“We hope the sun will rise in your heart, if it doesn’t rise on the hill,” Vance told a congregation of about 200 people--a quarter of them on horseback, most of the rest sitting in the bleachers facing the hills.

Lydia Tipton handed out programs for the Easter service from atop Bucky, her reddish-spotted leopard appaloosa. “He didn’t want to miss the service,” she said. “My poor other horse is jealous.”

The attraction of attending an Easter service on horseback, Tipton said, is that “it’s fun--not so mundane--(and) down to earth, I guess.”

The choir, singing “Up from the grave, he arose, he arose . . . hallelujah, Christ arose,” and Vance, leading the service, occasionally were interrupted by the snorts and whinnies of the equine audience. “After five years of (leading the service), it doesn’t bother me,” Alton said, adding that the horses make things “different and kind of fun, really.”

“Norco’s all about horses,” he said, “so why shouldn’t they be a part of it?”

Some of Norco’s other animal residents were not to be outdone, however. As if on cue from members of Vance’s church who were re-enacting scenes of the Resurrection on the rocky hillside, roosters began to crow in the city below, waking songbirds and dogs to join their chorus.

“I don’t go to church that much,” said Ray McCue, standing beside his horse after the service, “but I love coming out here.”

Comfortable in Jeans

That sentiment was echoed by many in a congregation that was obviously more comfortable in blue jeans than in their Sunday best.

One woman sitting in the stands wore a pleated, blue wool skirt and a fur stole. But the dress of the man beside her was more typical of the crowd: blue dungarees, boots and a cowboy hat. Even the preacher wore cowboy boots.

“This has always been my favorite service. People out here don’t worry about dressing up for Easter, about wearing fancy clothes,” a mounted participant said.

“We’re just here for one reason,” she said. “To praise the Lord.”