Its not too often you see horses walking down the streets of Parksville in the middle of winter but once a year members of the Silver Spurs Riding Club bring their steeds to town for their annual toy run.
This year’s event is being held on Sunday, Nov. 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. rain or shine.
The ride starts at Jensen and McCarter Streets in Parksville with a stop at Stanford Place and then winds its way through the city ending up at the Society of Organized Services (SOS) building.
The public is invited to come out and donate a toy for the SOS Christmas program.
Forty horses and riders participated in the event last year.
Mary Denholm of Stepping Out Carriages in Parksville said she will once again be bringing her draft horses to pull a decorated tally-ho wagon for the event.
Her mares, Sadie and Merryn will also be looking festive and the public is more than welcome to pat the horses when they are stopped at the seniors care centre or at the final location in the SOS parking lot.
Denholm said the horses are both 16 years old and weigh about 2,000 pounds each.
Sadie, who has been working with Denholm for 10 years, is a Percheron and Merryn is a Suffolk Punch. She said the streets of Parksville won’t be left messy after the toy run because they have a crew of pooper scoopers on hand.