Since 1890, the Rose Parade has been a New Year’s Day tradition for millions of people around the world. In 2025, the 136th parade welcomed 39 floats, 20 marching bands and 16 equestrian units, which included nearly 200 horses.

As the official horse inspector for the parade, California farrier and Hall of Famer Ada Gates Patton starts the first day of the new year at 4 a.m. for the final inspection, which ensures all horses are compliant with current shoeing and traction guidelines. Both Gates Patton and California farrier Bert Lee have been involved in the parade inspections and shoeing for decades.

Inspections, which Lee says took two days, are meticulous and strict. On his Facebook page, he comments it's "the first time in almost 20 years of doing this I didn’t have to work on a single horse or mule.”

To ensure equestrians are prepared for the shoeing demands of the parade, Gates Patton keeps in close contact with participants, she tells Pasadena Now.

“I stay in touch with them by email and by telephone, monthly and biweekly from September through October, November and December,” she says. “So I’m much more in touch with them this year than I ever have been before, and I have found that to be helpful for them.”

The 2-hour parade, which spans a 5.5-mile route through Pasadena, has historically been a safety hazard for horses, which is why Gates Patton was originally asked to be the official inspector, says Colorado Boulevard. When not shod properly for pavement, horses may injure themselves, their riders or others.

Horses are allowed to be barefoot, but they must meet certain requirements, including being regularly comfortable barefoot. Gates Patton and Lee have the right to remove horses from the parade if they’re determined to be unsound.

These inspections take place at “the Pit,” an underpass in Pasadena, where equestrians are lined up and waiting by the time the two of them arrive.

“It’s very cold. It’s very dark. People do have big, high spotlights. Sometimes people have gotten up earlier and started a fire, and they’re eating some breakfast. They have a long day in front of them,” Gates Patton tells Pasadena Now.

Prior to the Tournament of Roses is Equestfest, held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, which horses are inspected for as well. This show includes musical performances and drills by the equestrian units in the parade.

This year, participants include the Arabian Horse Association Versatile Arabians of Colorado, the Blue Shadows Mounted Drill Team, the Budweiser Clydesdales of Missouri, the First Cavalry Division, Horse Cavalry Detachment of Texas, the International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association of Alabama, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department — Sheriff’s Museum Foundation, Los Hermanos Banuelos Charro Team, Mini Therapy Horses, Northwest Spotted Drafts of Washington, the Painted Ladies Rodeo Performers, Scripps Miramar Ranch, Spirit of the West Riders, The New Buffalo Soldiers, The Norco Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team, The Valley Hunt Club and the United States Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard.

Gates Patton has a long list of accomplishments behind her name, including being the first woman certified as a thoroughbred racehorse farrier, shoeing horses at the 1984 Olympics, earning the American Farrier’s Association’s Edward Martin Humanitarian Award and being honored as a 2011 inductee into the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame. However, she started as a New York City debutante. Though she’d been an equestrian all her life, it wasn’t until she made a spur of the moment decision to move to Colorado that she pursued horseshoeing, according to Colorado Boulevard. After being unable to find a farrier for her horse, she decided to take up the mantle herself.

After graduating from Oklahoma Horseshoeing School and working on ranch horses, she moved back to the east coast, only to find that no one would let her into the racehorse world. So, she moved to the west coast, where she met her husband and mentor Henry Patton.

When she started working with high-level, talented racehorses, she met Linda Klausner, the equestrian chair of the Tournament of Roses Parade. Decades later, Gates Patton still spends her New Year’s Day under horses, ensuring the Rose Parade goes off without a hitch.

2026 Rose Parade applications are now open. Submit your Equestrian Unit here to be included in the next parade.

Learn more about the Tournament of Roses Parade, Equestfest and 2025’s Equestrian Units.

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