The Main Street Cowboys finish off the festivities as the last wagon to roll into town on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at the annual Westward Ho! Parade in Pendleton.

PENDLETON — The historic Westward Ho! Parade graced the streets of Pendleton on Friday, Sept. 16, continuing a tradition that’s held since Round-Up’s inception in 1910.

The nonmotorized parade presents a vision of what Pendleton’s streets would have looked like in the fabled days of the Wild West, when cowboys and cowgirls rode on horseback and in horse drawn carts through the town.

“It’s like John Wayne goes to Mardi Gras,” Pendleton Mayor John Turner said, preparing to take part in the parade himself.

Turner said the Westward Ho! is made possible through community effort and a strong relationship between the Round-Up Board of Directors and the Pendleton Public Works office.

City workers are out at 4 in the morning preparing the parade route, he said, and work closely with city police and the fire department work closely.

As participants mounted their horses, carts and carriages for the parade, a large crowd readied along the parade route, bringing a strong Round-Up spirit to the event.

“Ticket sales are good, financially I’ve heard we have more entries in this parade than we’ve had in the last 10 years,” Turner explained. “We estimate that our town of 17,000 swells up to somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 every year.”

The Westward Ho! Parade features local businesses, cowboys, cowgirls, rodeo princesses from around the United States and Oregon political candidates.

Christine Drazan, Tina Kotek, and Betsy Johnson, the three leading candidates for 2022’s Oregon gubernatorial race, all rode in carts through the parade, waving to the crowd and calling out to supporters, or in Johnson’s case, throwing candy.

Drazan, the Republican nominee, who arrived just before the parade began, said, “It’s a really, really fun experience. Everybody enjoys Round-Up, who doesn’t love it?”

She said her favorite part of Round-Up festivities was the Grand Entry, but added, “There’s a lot to say for the bulls though.”

Up and down the parade route, families celebrated the signature event, propping up children on shoulders and cheering on participants.

James Davis and his son Jax sat across from the old city hall building where they waited for the parade. Jax, just 1, was dancing with excitement and anticipation.

“It’s Jax’s first Round-Up, so watching him enjoy it has been my favorite part of Round-Up,” James said.

Though there was no shortage of rodeo princesses in the parade, former princesses came to Westward Ho! to watch the parade and take a walk down memory lane.

Sara Mautz, a former Round-Up Princess, was sitting with her partner Hervé Danzelaud along the parade route.

“We love everything,” Mautz said with a laugh, “I was a Round-Up princess, my aunt was the first Oregonian to be Miss Rodeo America. The community spirit is our favorite part of Round-Up, everyone from town and the reservation comes out.”