Horses Play an Important Role in the Island's Lilac Parade

The 2007 Lilac Festival came to a close once more with bands, clowns, bagpipers, dancers, bicycles, dogs, and, of course, horses. It was a nice parade. There were the horses and carriages, wagons, pulling floats, performing drills, parading with riders, and one, a Haflinger foal, tethered and trotting right next to its harnessed mother. It kept up down all of Main Street past the cheering crowds, the judges, and oblivious to the toots of ferry horns.

While this parade has grown and attracted participants from Canada and all over Michigan, there is still that "hometown Mackinac" feel to it, that I hope will never disappear. For that, I am truly thankful. That local flair comes through when one sees Islanders who annually participate in the parade.

Where would the Lilac Parade be without the drays and horses to pull the floats? Just how many years in June has some surrey (normally used daily for hourly carriages) become the vehicle used to carry a state senator or House of Representatives member? While the Lilac Festival has expanded to include many things in the week-plus of festivities, to me and still to many, the festival means one thing: the Lilac Day Parade.

Tom Horn and his horses, Sam and Doc, pull the Mission Point float.

What would the parade be, if we didn't have Donald and Carl Andress in the forefront, riding those high-spirited, head-tossing steeds, with horses and riders loving every minute of it? What about those men and women who drive our teams in this endeavor, adding their own bit of pride and spirit to the day?

One of the nicest little Mackinac moments was seeing one of our taxi drivers, who was on duty that afternoon, add a small bit of "trim" to her team. They looked quite sharp, snappy, and well groomed, and they each sported a flower in their braided manes. They hadn't even been in the parade, but rather on runs all day, yet their driver was caught up in the moment.

It is these low-key particulars that make those people who work with horses here have their special connection with this place, even if they don't own the animal they drive, and may not own a home here. The wonderful thing is that they are here from places like Jamaica, Sault Ste. Marie, Rudyard, Australia, Saline, and Novi, and for the most part, they really enjoy what they're doing. Some from far-off homes find themselves in a parade, and what fun.

The Queen's float driver and team are Scott Bruce and his daily companions, named Gary and Herb.

All of the participants for this event must gather and then assemble on the lakefront grounds at Mission Point. For some of the horses and handlers, it can be a long and tense wait. Many horses stand patiently, while others seem to dance. While waiting down there with them, I saw several teams and drivers that I would happily hand a purple ribbon to on the local level.

One of the Island's most impressive floats this year was that of the 2007 Lilac Queen and her court. The whole affair was created in the village, and spearheaded by the Mosley- Kolatski clan. The elegant creation was filled with fresh flowers from Weber's Floral, and quickly assembled and dressed over the base of one lowly dray owned by Mackinac Island Service Company. The lucky driver and team were Scott Bruce and his daily companions, named Gary and Herb. This was Scott's second year with the company. Scott, who is from St. Ignace, has been working with this same team since early spring. He probably will continue with them through late fall.

His horses are Belgians, and they're powerful and massive in size. Herb is a dark chestnut, and Gary, who is equally strong, is much lighter, often categorized in color as a strawberry roan. These animals have picked up and/or pulled all kinds of freight. Scott told me that aside from the Lilac Court float and parade, the most unusual thing they've hauled was a jet-ski dock. Aside from being very warm sitting on the driver's box in the blazing sun, Scott was having a great time, and Herb and Gary liked the close-up attention.

My other favorite pair was a team of dark bay drafts. They caught my eye, not only because they were standing well, but because the brass hobnails on their driving harnesses were clean. One expects the grooms and barnmen from Grand Hotel to always have an exceptional turnout, but this pair of "hometown bays" looked great. I talked to their driver, Tom Horn, and he told me with pride it had taken him a good two hours just to polish the head stalls for his team of Sam and Doc. He wanted them to look nice as they were pulling the Mission Point float. In this case, horses and driver were all veterans, and this was Tom's 17th Lilac Day Parade, he said with a grin.

Last, but not least, in my lineup was one lone wagon driven by one lone Island veteran. As they made their way down Main Street, cheers and applause followed them. George Wellington and the Doud's Market grocery wagon rolled on by. The wagon, the horse, and the driver spoke more about this place and history than I can put into words. It was wonderful. You guessed it, just like the old days.

Candice Dunnigan is an active member of the American Equestrian Association, the Waterloo Hunt, and the Mackinac Horsemen's Association. Seasonally she resides at Easterly Cottage.