Norwegian Fjords in the Rose Parade

Bluebird Lane extends a hearty congratulations for a job well done to the team that represented our Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry in the 2014 Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA!

On January 1, in front of over eight hundred thousand spectators and broadcast nationally, this group of Fjord owners made us proud by presenting 13 beautifully turned-out Fjord horses, exhibiting the unique traits of our wonderful breed and their Norwegian heritage.

All five colours of the breed were represented in this group, which included five ridden Fjords and eight driven: two singles, a pair, and a four-in-hand. Seven side walkers rounded out the team for ground support.

Beth Beymer drove her four-in-hand of white dun mares: Starfire Biela, Millennium, Luna vom Oderhaff, and Lia vom Oderhaff. The four pulled an antique carriage carrying five passengers in traditional Norwegian apparel, plus two whippets.

The ridden horses include the brown dun mare Sweetwater’s Zorah Belle owned by Teressa Kandianis and ridden by Marg Clumpner, the red dun mare OH Adrianna, Longtheway Farm’s yellow dun mare OH Yenna ridden in Norwegian costume by Shari MacCallum Clark, Victoria Arling’s grey gelding LTW Van Gogh ridden in western tack, and Kristin Miller’s brown dun mare Bergen Saundra.

NFHR Registrar Jeanne Poirier drove her brown dun mare Hanne, accompanied by NFHR Board Member Margie Diaz beside her on the carriage and NFHR President Teressa Kandianis on the back.

The Finnoes drove their pair of brown dun geldings Proud Bottom Indiana and TBF Deilig, and the brown dun mare Sundag as a single rounded out the driven horses.

The gorgeous flowers were supplied by Margit Holakoui, a Norwegian florist based in Los Angeles, CA. There were 14 bouquets for the four carriages, plus five smaller bouquets for the ridden horses’ tails, and eight slightly larger bouquets on the driven horses’ harness.

Cancer has deeply affected the Fjord community (as it has the community at large) and it was touching to see the parade participants honour lost comrades with the cancer awareness ribbon clipped into the horses’ coats.

The Rose Parade is a 125 year old New Year’s tradition in American culture. The two hour parade covers a five and a half mile route through Pasadena, and features three types of entries: floral-decorated floats sponsored by a corporation or community organization, equestrian units, and marching bands. Each float is decorated with more flowers than the average florist will use in five years.

Click on the video link to see all the televised coverage of Fjord Horses in the Rose Parade!

Congratulations to all of the participants of the NFHR team who worked long and hard and traveled thousands of miles to represent our wonderful breed at this prestigious event!

All photos by Sandy North, and are available for purchase on SmugMug, with proceeds going to help with the parade expenses.