The Newton Chamber of Commerce and the City of Newton had to make some difficult decisions when it comes to horses in the annual Christmas parade.
For many years, the city has welcomed horses in the parade, usually appearing at the end of the parade. After an incident a couple of years ago, however, the chamber had to rethink its stance on that.
Chamber director Emily Pugh presented those new regulations to the Newton Board of Aldermen. Here are the main points:
• Only professional organizations with professional show horses may register their horses in the parade.
• Each horse and organization is required to be pre- registered for the parade with the Newton Chamber of Commerce.
• A copy of the horse’s Coggins Report must be submitted when you register your horse.
• The group must provide personnel to clean up after the horses during the parade.
• Each horse must not be easily spooked by people, loud noises, etc.
• Horses must be trailered to an agreed upon location (to be determined) and then walked to their place in the parade lineup.
When you look at those regulations, it might effectively eliminate all of the previous horses that were a part of the parade, but it’s a decision the chamber and the city have no choice to to make. If a horse accident were to cause harm to a participant in the parade or a paradegoer, it could have seroius repercussions that could affect both organizations.
I know we hate to break tradition with something like this, but the risk was too high not to act. In fact, the chamber eliminated horses altogether last year, but after revisiting the issue, this was the best solution that the chamber could find, and it’s the only way the city can limit its liability when it comes to something like this.
I applaud everyone’s discussion to try and find a compromise. While we want everyone to be able to participate, the chamber and the city has to look out for the best interest of everyone involved.
And I think that will help make sure that everyone has a safe and merry Christmas in our area.
Contact Brent at bmaze@-newtoncountyappeal.com.
