Parade kicks off Horse Trading Days in Zelienople
ZELIENOPLE — The three-day Horse Trading Days in Zelienople kicked off on Thursday night, July 17, with the main event of opening night, the Round-up Horse Parade, traveling down Main Street.
The parade returned in 2024 after a hiatus of several years.
“The lady who used to run it retired,” said parade organizer Elaine Bish. “So Anna (Maharg) and I took it over last year.”
Unlike other holiday or summer parades in Butler County, the horse parade does not prominently feature fire trucks, and only showcased one police car — a brand-new cruiser recently purchased by the Zelienople Police Department. The parade is mainly for horses, horse riders and humans in horse-related businesses.
That said, not all of the equines at the horse parade were strictly horses. After the cruiser, leading off the parade was Buddy the Donk, a donkey owned by Mia Jewell of Hermitage, which has attracted nearly 60,000 followers and more than 3 million likes on TikTok.
“We always take him up here for Fourth of July parades and other parades,” Jewell said.
Buddy marched as part of the Butler Sheriff’s Posse, a group of horse enthusiasts who volunteer to support the police department and assist it with public relations at county events. Five other horses from the posse marched behind Buddy during the parade.
“We do the farm show, we do the Parts-O-Rama, and we let people pet the horses,” said Gail Leopold. “We help people find their cars, we help people find their kids, we help out the public. And we don’t carry guns.”
One of the horse-related businesses marching in the parade this year was Cornerstone Equine Dentistry, a one-woman operation based out of Evans City run by Jesse Dressler.
“I travel to different barns and work on horses,” Dressler said. “Every horse is different. Some are really good and some are really naughty and will need sedation, just like people.”
Some new businesses have popped up along Zelienople’s Main Street in the past year, and are hoping to see benefits from the annual event. One of them is Papa Joe’s Wine Cellar, which opened this past November and is distinguishable by the bocce ball court outside its front door.
“Business is great,” said owner Michelle O’Shea. “It’s great Thursday nights when we have the open air markets as well. So I’m looking forward to the next two days. It’s nice to see the community all come out and be able to enjoy each other and the town together and it just shows what a great small town we have.”
The main event on Friday will be the cornhole tournament at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday will feature the traditional ShuBrew hot dog eating contest.
