HOUSTON — A good number of trail rides got rolling Saturday morning on their way to Memorial Park and, eventually, the downtown Rodeo parade next Saturday.
The Texas Independence riders set off from La Marque early Saturday morning. The ride got its start in 1961 and Juan Ochoa has been there every year since.
“It's the crowd,” he said. “I enjoy my horseback riding. I enjoy the people. I have a lot of respect for the riders and they all respect me.”
“We saw the horses on the trail, so we decided to come over and check it out,” said La Marque resident Brian Butler. "My nieces love that kind of stuff."
As you can tell, the sight was a big hit with those along the route who stopped to get video or just wave at the riders.
This is one of 10 trail rides that happen the week before the Rodeo. Though some are already headed to Houston, rides with less ground to cover won't start up until Sunday or even Monday.
If you want to get ready to Rodeo, check out our KHOU 11+ Rewind of our coverage last year. It covers all the events leading up to the start of the Rodeo, the student competitions, the food, and the rides. We've got it all.
You can watch it on khou.com, our KHOU 11 YouTube channel or on our KHOU 11+ app on Roku and FireTV.
Check out the trail rides!
If you want to see the trail riders heading to Houston, you have plenty of chances this week. Here are the routes the different rides will be taking.
And for everything RodeoHouston, check out our full coverage page here.