Dayton Parade A Go, Rodeo A “No”

DAYTON - Amidst concerns over the spread of a highly contagious equine virus in the region, Dayton Days organizers Tuesday night decided to cancel two days of Pro West rodeo this coming weekend.

But the Dayton Days Parade, though horseless, will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, as will the Queen's Coronation dinner on Friday and the Queen's luncheon after the parade.

"Although it's terrible to do it at this late a date, I feel it's the right decision," Dayton Days Treasurer Melissa Hansen after her board's long deliberations over the matter on Tuesday evening.

Hansen said Dayton Days organizers hope to reschedule the much-anticipated substitute for the traditional horse races on Memorial Day for some time later this summer when the threat of an EHV-1 outbreak has subsided.

Dayton Chamber of Commerce Director Claudia Nysoe said her organization, which sponsors the parade, decided to go ahead with the yearly pageant albeit with the request to all floats to leave their horses at home.

Nysoe said she was on the phone earlier this week with fair managers in Southeast Washington and decided to leave the horses out of the parade just to be on the safe side.

"Everyone would rather be safe than sorry," she said. "We have to take a look at what's best for the community."

Horse events everywhere are being cancelled or postponed because of the fear of EHV-1, said Jason Kelly, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

"Animal owners and event organizers are very cautious," he said. "Anytime animals come together, there is a risk of infection."

A Umatilla County, Oregon, horse was reported to be the latest confirmed case of the disease, which started in Utah and can spread easily among horses through nasal secretions, airborne contraction or simply by being in a barn previously occupied by another horse. Owners should check for fevers, lethargy or clear runny noses, veterinarians say.

Kelly said his department strongly urges local planners to conduct a risk assessment with animal health specialists in their communities for deciding about the fate of their events.

The Pro West rodeo would have brought horses into Dayton from all over the Pacific Northwest and Hansen said it simply wasn't worth the risk.

Saturday's parade in Waitsburg was almost horseless with only flag carrier Emily Adams, her sister, Dayton Days Queen Beka Adams, and Tom Hebert, a Pendleton-based Spanish Mustang specialist, on horseback for the event. One other horse and two mules were used as draft animals for wagons, but the courts from other fairs rode down Main Street in vehicles.

" It's different," Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days Queen Madeline Jensen said about riding in the Waitsburg parade in a trailer. "It's weird because your horse is so much a part of this. But it's better not to take any chances. We're (her horse) staying home for at least 10 days."

Nysoe, whose organization has received 40 parade entries and counting, said she will request that of her floats this coming Saturday as well.

Hansen said Queen Beka Adams' Coronation dinner is at 5:30 p.m. at the Fairgrounds Pavilion Friday, while her luncheon is at the Youth Building following the parade. For more information about those festivities, call 509-386-2421.

The Touchet River Run is planned as scheduled for Monday, Memorial Day.