HURRICANE – Going to the homes of friends and neighbors during the holidays and spreading some Christmas cheer caroling is a time-honored tradition. Some Hurricane residents, though, like to do their caroling on horseback.
A mix of around 20 or so horses, mules and donkeys clip-clopped through a part of Hurricane between 1760 West and 180 South Wednesday night as their riders made stops at various homes and sang carols.
Accompanying the singing riders was a horse-drawn wagon and a pickup truck pulling a flatbed trailer – both carrying additional carolers.
Young and old sang “Jingle Bells,” “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” “Silent Night” and other Christmas classics, followed up with a loud “Merry Christmas!” and waves for all participating before the carolers moved on to the next house.
“We’ve been trying to make it a tradition every year,” said Casey Lofthouse, one of the caroling organizers, as he sat atop a donkey that, like other animals in the group, had been outfitted with Christmas lights powered by battery packs. “It’s a lot of fun,” he said.
Lofthouse said he would sometimes go out caroling on horseback as a kid and had a fun time, though a couple of years ago fellow area residents Paul Gooch and Leon Gubler got together with the group and wanted to make a tradition out of the event, and so they are.
The group has grown a little bit more each year, Lofthouse said. Around 30 people joined the group this year.
“Seems like every year we get a few more horses, and a few mules and donkeys ad wagons,” he said. “It’s a growing thing. It’s a lot of fun to spread Christmas cheer.”
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A mix of around 20 or so horses, mules and donkeys clip-clopped through a part of Hurricane between 1760 West and 180 South in Hurricane Wednesday night as their riders made stops at various homes and sang carols, Hurricane, Utah, Dec. 23, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A mix of around 20 or so horses, mules and donkeys clip-clopped through a part of Hurricane between 1760 West and 180 South in Hurricane Wednesday night as their riders made stops at various homes and sang carols, Hurricane, Utah, Dec. 23, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A mix of around 20 or so horses, mules and donkeys clip-clopped through a part of Hurricane between 1760 West and 180 South in Hurricane Wednesday night as their riders made stops at various homes and sang carols, Hurricane, Utah, Dec. 23, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A mix of around 20 or so horses, mules and donkeys clip-clopped through a part of Hurricane between 1760 West and 180 South in Hurricane Wednesday night as their riders made stops at various homes and sang carols, Hurricane, Utah, Dec. 23, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A mix of around 20 or so horses, mules and donkeys clip-clopped through a part of Hurricane between 1760 West and 180 South in Hurricane Wednesday night as their riders made stops at various homes and sang carols, Casey Lofthouse (pictured) was one of the organizers of the event, Hurricane, Utah, Dec. 23, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A mix of around 20 or so horses, mules and donkeys clip-clopped through a part of Hurricane between 1760 West and 180 South in Hurricane Wednesday night as their riders made stops at various homes and sang carols, Hurricane, Utah, Dec. 23, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won an award for photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing ferals bees from a Washington City home. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction.
This is awesome! I wish they could come to my neighborhood.
Yeah I’m sure they’re horses are leaving a gift for everyone…LOL break out the pooper scooper ! by all means skip our neighborhood..please