Carlynne Allbee has ridden a horse down Orange Avenue 52 times, and she’s not done. This year, the East County resident will mark her 53rd entry in the city’s Fourth of July parade — more than any other equestrian.
When you celebrate a 10th anniversary, that’s one thing, she said. But after a while, time loses any sense, similar to asking a couple how long they’ve been married after a certain milestone.
“You just do it,” Allbee said. “I love it, the fact that I’m outlasting. It’s also brought back a lot of memories, because there are so many people that I’ve seen during the parade over the years.”
Allbee said she tries to give something new to the crowd every year, remembering how the parade members treated her when she attended the parade as a kid — while some people wouldn’t pay attention to the crowd, and others would.
To Allbee, having attendees feel involved in the parade is one of the reasons she is in it every year.
Coronado’s parade stands out
In fact, she’s been in parades all over Southern California and a few in Arizona, including the Fiesta Bowl Parade in Phoenix, the Rose Parade in Pasadena and the Mother Goose Parade in El Cajon.
Allbee has four Pinto horses stabled in East County. One of them, Brandy, has been in the parade since she was 18 months old, and Allbee hopes to bring her to this year’s Coronado parade.
What makes it stand out to her? Compared to some of the other parades she’s attended, the Coronado event rotates the order of equestrians every year.
“They treat us very fairly,” Allbee said.
The equestrians, according to the Parade Chairman Dave Szymanski, are a close-knit family.
Allbee attested to this. Back in the 1970s, she and others on horseback — together they’d call themselves “professional graders” — agreed that if they had to give up all of the parades except one, Coronado would be the one they’d keep.
“I never ask why [or] how our parade is better [or] different than any other parade because whatever we are doing makes them want to come back,” Szymanski said via email. “I have a feeling it’s not the dedicated staging area for them, but it’s the parade spectators with how they welcome and show their appreciation for participating in the parade.”
Szymanski said his priority is to ensure the safety of the riders and horses, providing specific blocks for the entries to stage in both before and after the event to keep public vehicles from going through.
At least 50 horses expected
This year, there are 13 group entries with a total of at least 50 horses.
When Allbee first started participating, many equestrians wore fancy Western outfits with glittery material or embroidered decorations, and it was common to see matched pairs like husband-and-wife teams. Back then, there were only a few groups, and most entries were individual or small clusters.
Nowadays, individual entries are rare, and the parade predominantly features assemblages, such as historical reenactment teams or breed-specific horse groups.
“In my personal opinion, equestrian and marching bands make a parade a true parade,” Szymanski said. “The nice thing about San Diego County is there is a horse community that is not far from Coronado.”
