Portland Rose Festival
Grand Floral Parade 2006
First Place, Horse Drawn Vehicle/Carriage Division

A team of Canadian Horses trained and boarded at Stoneybrook Stable pulled the Molalla Buckeroo's 1870's stagecoach in the Grand Floral Parade with the Buckeroo Court and officials inside. Jeff (bay) and Hercule (black) have been working together for about a year, and have each been in the Rose Parade four times- the three previous times as saddle horses with the Northwest Cavalry Association. They were also in Keizer's Iris Festival Parade this year with the stagecoach.

All of our hard work scrubbing horses and harness paid off! We received the first place award in the Horse Drawn Vehicle division!

The coach was driven by Stoneybrook trainer Robert Shannon, with his training assistant Mary Miller as shotgun and secondary driver. Mary "Marcus" Johnson and Ken Morris dressed in 1860's cavalry uniforms to serve as outriders - a very useful and necessary function for driving a team in such a large parade.

The Buckeroo Court and two officials rode in the coach. Queen Meagan Tallman (riding on Hercule's side) and Princess Charlotte Wright (Jeff's side) made up the official 2006 court, with Honorary Molalla Buckeroo Members Howard Heintz and Wes Smith riding along with them.

The coach is an Abbott and Downing stagecoach built in the mid 1870's in Concord, New Hampshire. This style of coach is not the stereotypical overland stage. Its open sides and windows are characteristics of coaches that brought passengers on shorter trips from train depots to towns. The Molalla Buckeroo Association acquired the coach in the late 1920's. It was well used but has been so carefully maintained that it shows little wear.

Jeff is owned by Ken Morris of Portland and Hercule is owned by Mary Miller of Dallas. The outrider horses are Stonewall (gray), owned by Lin Ahearn of Lebanon, and Pistol (black), owned by Dan Miller of Dallas. Coincidentally, both outrider horses have also been trained to drive at Stoneybrook, and Pistol drives as a pair. Joe Hamer generously allowed us to borrow his Smucker's Pairs Harness- thank you, Joe!

Click here for more parade photos!

photos by Dan Miller and Beth Miller

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