Merced County Sheriff's Office horses and riders head to inauguration parade

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Everything from saddles to feed, acceptable for a first-class send-off to the Nation's Capitol.

The Merced County Sheriff's Posse was chosen to beryllium successful the statesmanlike inauguration parade adjacent week.

"There's a wow origin to it. It's hard to explicate the emotions that spell with it to cognize that we are going to beryllium representing the Central Valley," Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said.

This the 4th clip the posse has participated successful a statesmanlike inauguration since it was established successful 1948.

First for Richard Nixon, past George HW Bush and present a 2nd clip for Donald Trump.

"I'm precise honored that I get to correspond the sheriffs from San Joaquin County done Kern County to see Riverside Monterey," Sheriff Warnke said.

The posse raised adjacent to $100,000 successful assemblage donations to marque the travel possible.

A full of 42 radical volition beryllium heading to D.C. from Merced, 12 riders volition beryllium successful the parade with fractional a twelve posse members walking alongside them.

For Merced County Sheriff's Posse Captain Laurette Locke and her equine Rosey, it's not their archetypal clip being a portion of the historical day.

"The lights were truthful agleam it was astir similar a imagination erstwhile you spell into it you spell and I truly doing this," Locke said. "You conscionable get the quivers erstwhile you spell done the lights and you look up and you spot the president and his household there, the White House, it's similar who does this."

The palominos are pros successful the spotlight, but determination are inactive last-minute preparations needed to get them acceptable for their closeup.

"We're going to person to bathe them. We're going to person to marque definite everything gets done and the hairsbreadth is trimmed and close down till we overgarment their toenails," Sheriff Warnke said.

Wearing the prima with pride, Sheriff Warnke and the posse person one-of-a-kind uniforms specially made for the ceremony.

A pinch-me infinitesimal for the Sheriff, the sendoff other peculiar arsenic it's successful his ain hometown of Hilmar.

"I started retired arsenic an explorer, truthful with this bureau successful 1974, 5 years later, I was full-time lawman sheriff, and present it is 45 years aboriginal and to beryllium the 2nd clip to spell arsenic the sheriff of this county, it conscionable an grant to beryllium the sheriff of this county," Sheriff Warnke said.

The horses were escorted by constabulary arsenic they near the area. The remainder of the radical volition articulation them connected Friday.

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