Nathan and Tucker look very patriotic!! I always appreciate the effort when the flags are carried by horse and rider. I've carried a few flags for parades over the years and there's alot more to it than some would think.
My uncle had a Quarter horse named Red Peppers many years ago that had been used on the track. He use Pepper to carry the Norwegian flag in a parade one time and while he was in the parade something spooked Pepper, he jumped, and as my uncle jerked the reins, the nut came off the end of the cable on his mechanical hackamore. This dropped the entire bridle right off old Pepper's nose and down around his neck where it was totally useless as a form of speed control. Well, needless to say, Pepper could flat out fly and he thought it was time to run!! He raced down Main Street for about 6 blocks(thankfully hitting no one) and fortunately he neck reined well enough that my uncle got him turned down the street towards the Fairgrounds--albeit at a full gallop on "slippery" pavement. (Some of you may have experienced this sensation and I mean it will pucker every orifice you have!!) As he rounded the corner, he tossed the flag to one of his friends sitting on a horse on the corner. Old Pepper raced four more blocks down the street(just missing a couple of cars on the cross streets) and went in the main gate of the Fairgrounds. My uncle got him onto the race track and from there it was just a matter of letting him run himself out.
Many horse people around here talked about that experience for years after that and their comments usually ended with something like "Well, if you wanted to see the Norwegian flag, you had to look real fast that day" or" the Norwegian flag sure had a lot of "Pepper" on it that day". Funny thing is my uncle was a full Irishman and I don't think either he or most of the Norwegians around here were ever known for moving very fast!!!