Youngest Riders Get Ready for Parade

Riding tall in the saddle, Amber Okeh directed her horse with one hand and waved to an imaginary crowd Friday as she practiced for her appearance in the Tournament of Roses parade on New Year’s Day.

The 10-year-old North Hollywood girl and a small group of other Los Angeles children, ages 9 to 11, are the youngest equestrians expected to appear in the nationally televised parade.

The young riders were chosen to participate because of their outstanding horsemanship and participation in Wonderful OutdoorWorld (WOW), a program co-sponsored by the city of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department, federal agencies and private corporations.

For months, the children have learned horse grooming, equipment maintenance and parade safety, said Dave Griffith, a recreation and parks department supervisor and WOW coordinator.

The parade, he said, is the payoff for all their hard work.

“They are fortunate enough to get into the Rose Parade and to have the opportunity to show off their skills in the parade,” he said.

On Friday, under the watchful eye of horseman Bob Tanner, a 26-year veteran of Tournament of Roses parades, the youngsters rode in formation, smiled and called “Happy New Year!” as they steered their mounts around a corral.

The children were instructed how to nudge their horses back into formation and how to dismount in an emergency should the horse become frightened. The horses, however, have appeared in numerous parades and are expected to make the trek down Colorado Boulevard without incident.

Tanner donated the horses the children will ride from his business, Red’s Meadow Pack Station in Mammoth Lakes, which offers guided trail rides and overnight packing trips.

Tanner, who will ride in the parade with his Appaloosa Equestrian Group, said he considered it a privilege to provide horses, equipment and lessons to city kids who might not otherwise have the opportunity to ride horses.

“Kids living in the city deserve this kind of experience,” he said. “I want to show them that the horses and the wilderness belong to all people, not just the affluent.”

The kids appeared grateful and excited to be in the traditional New Year’s Day pageant.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” Amber said, sitting on her horse during a break in practice. “No one in my family has ever been in the Rose Parade before.”

Megan Williamson, 10, of Tarzana, anticipated the crowd’s reaction to the only children’s riding group in the parade: “They will be happy to see kids representing other kids.”

Other children in the group are Sara Weiss, 10, of Encino; William Correa, 11, of North Hollywood; Quincy Freeman, 10, of Sylmar; Eric Scott Nealy, 9, of Baldwin Hills; Raymond Brown, 11, of Boyle Heights; Samuel Arrington, 10, of Palms; and Lauryn Drivas, 12, a former Granada Hills resident, who now lives in Coarsegold, a community near Yosemite National Park.