County Sheriff’s Posse Saddles Up for Rose Parade

The Alameda County Sheriff's Mounted Posse (ACSMP) has been invited to participate in the 134th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena on January 2, 2023.

There are going to be some familiar faces in the 134th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena next month. The Alameda County Sheriff's Mounted Posse (ACSMP) has been invited to participate in the annual event on January 2, 2023. 

Fifteen riders (three men and 12 women) and two assistants walking alongside will be situated in the 19th position in the parade—sandwiched between the Kaiser Permanente float and the Kiwanis International entry. They will be one of 16 equestrian units in the parade, more than 75 entries overall. This will be the first time ACSMP has been represented since the 1950s.  

"It's absolutely crazy how this came together," said Sergeant of parade logistics and Castro Valley resident Barbara Hoffman. "We sent in our application in March, and in August, we got word we were accepted. Now we are on the journey of preparing for the parade. It's a lot of work to pull this off, but we're very excited to be representing Alameda County." 

The Posse is a volunteer group with 20 members. While most people see them in parades, they also provide mounted crime prevention services both at the Alameda County Fair and the Coliseum in Oakland. The delegation going to the Rose Parade will include several Deputies who will drive the horse trailers to Pasadena, camp out the night before, and pick the team up at the end of the 5.5-mile parade route, mostly along Colorado Boulevard.

"We have to be in position long before the 8 a.m. parade start," Hoffman said. "We're going to have our old traditional silver outfits that the team has used since the 1940s, and since it's the Rose Parade, the riders and the working crew will be decorated with flowers."

The Posse will trot down the parade route for the 2-hour event with three rows of five mounted horses. They are expected to carry the American flag, the state flag, and the flag representing the county Sheriff's Office. Hoffman says she will be in the last row. During the parade, the riders will keep the horses active to avoid them from getting anxious. 

"We’ll do a standard file, but if the parade stops, then we do an echelon formation where one rider takes the American flag to the front with two riders behind the lead and then three riders and then four riders, and so on," Hoffman said. "We can also walk the horses in circles if needed."

The 2023 Rose Parade theme is "Turning the Corner," celebrating the unlimited potential that each new year brings. The event will be broadcast starting at 8 a.m.