Local horseman takes the trip of a lifetime

WALLA WALLA-Each great adventure has its start. Some start out with a cup of coffee or a long drive, but a Walla Walla Valley horseman's adventure started with a custom ordered, horse-drawn omnibus. Daryl Hopson recently visited London for the Lord Mayor's Parade, and experienced England in what he says was the 'best way possible,'

In 2017, Hopson had a horse-drawn omnibus built by a company in Europe. The bus is complete with a spiral staircase that leads to an upper deck. The bus, once completed, was freighted across the ocean, and up the West Coast, eventually making its way to Hopson's horse-drawn carriage collection. In the meantime, a Polish carriage company posted photos of the bus, where they caught Ben Turner's attention.

Turner reached out to Hopson about any carriage classes worth seeing in the United States, and in June, ended up joining Hopson on the Pendleton Wagon Train this June, as part of a "trip exchange." Initially, Turner had invited him to England for the Royal Windsor show in May, 2020.

"We were quite cramped," said Hopson. "It was myself, a friend who was with me helping with the horses, Ben, and his girlfriend; all sharing a small living quarters with one." Hopson said that nothing about the trip felt out of place. It was like he had known Turner for a long time, and said they shared an immediate friendship.

"It was as close to the Wild West as we could get," Hopson said, as he laughed about the Wagon Train trip. "We had a two-horse team pulling a covered wagon. It was a lot of fun." The wagon train event lasts 5 days, and offers a first-hand look at the beautiful Oregon scenery that travelers on the Oregon Trail experienced.

Turner and his girlfriend returned to Pendleton last fall, during the Pendleton Round-Up, and got to experience the wild west all over again, with a few more modern amenities than the wagon train. This time, they came with a new invitation: They invited Hopson to join them, in London, for the inaugural Lord Mayor's Parade. 

The Lord Mayor's parade is an event that dates back over 800 years. The Lord Mayor's position was initiated in 1215, in an attempt to help govern the city of London. The position was originally just "mayor," until it was changed roughly a century later. Each year, the newly elected Lord Mayor had to leave the safety of the city, travel up the River Thames, and swear his loyalty to the King. Since 1215, the Lord Mayor has traveled to the King more than 700 times, and newly-elected Lord Mayor's have sworn their loyalty to 34 different kings and queens of England. 

Today, though the route is much different from the original, the pageantry is still very much the same. The parade is a massive event, and everyone from school children to Her Majesty's Forces attend with enthusiasm. The current Lord Mayor, sworn in during a silent ceremony the day before the parade, is Alderman William Russell.

Hopson rode through the parade on a horse-drawn fire wagon, wearing an authentic firefighter's uniform. The wagon that he rode was built in 1889 by Shand Mason & Co, in Blackfriars, London. The wagon was a part of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, serving the surrounding areas of Soho and Westminster. It was in service from 1889 until 1913. The wagon was manned by a driver and four firemen, who rode on the sideboards. Once the wagon would arrive to the scene of the fire, the crew would recruit 22 extra firefighters to help with the pumps. The wagon was capable of moving 125 gallons of water per minute, and shot a stream of water over 100 feet in the air. The firefighters were paid a schilling an hour, and were refreshed with a jug of beer. 

It was brought back into service during the second World War, where it served as a trailer pump. The wagon was stationed at Southwark and Lambert fire stations, and was part of the efforts in extinguishing fires during the Blitz. The fire wagon was then stored until its sale in 1995. The buyers restored it, debuting it in 1998, and it has since been in four Lord Mayor Parades.

"It was really the best way to tour the city. We were up and getting ready at 4 in the morning, and the parade itself was incredibly long," said Hopson. "I saw all of London on that route."

Following the parade, Hopson received a tour of the Royal Mews, and the Queen's stables. For a horseman like Daryl Hopson, the Queen's stables were like the very best Christmas. He got to view the Queen's golden state coach: a carriage so valuable that it is kept in its very own climate-controlled, locked area. The carriage was last used during the Queen's 'diamond years' of rule, and will be used again when the Queen reaches her 70th year of ruling. 

Hopson wasn't in London strictly for parade business. He stayed in a house that was built in 1256, and spent time in the lush, rolling countryside. He explained that livestock is a different thing over there, and that there weren't many animals found in the fields. He said that the weather was a lot wetter than the Walla Walla area, and that many farmers moved animals to dry lots to help preserve the fields.

He also spent a little bit of time 'hacking,' which he explained was similar to trail riding in the states. He rode a Irish draft/shire cross horse, who behaved wonderfully and made the trip worth taking despite the horse only having a few rides prior. Both Irish draft horses and shire horses are on the larger side of the equine scale, and his horse owned up to the 'big and tall' qualities of draft horses. On Sunday, before heading home, Hopson served as the designated (carriage) driver, as he went on a 'pub crawl,' which is the normal social. Groups of people get together, get on their horses or drive a carriage over cobblestone roads, and travel from pub to pub, spending just a few minutes saying hi and catching up. He explained that the roads were very narrow and fairly busy, but the horses were well-trained and the traffic was courteous. 

Hopson said that he still intends to go to the Royal Windsor Show next spring. If the Windsor is half as memorable as his trip to the Lord Mayor's parade, he is in for a treat!