The All-Western Parade steps off Saturday morning to officially open the 2025 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Thousands of spectators line the streets of downtown Cowtown to watch this spectacular yearly event. More than 3,000 horses will prance along a two-mile route up Main Street and then down Houston Street. Among its nearly 150 entries are more than 70 riding clubs from across the country, including the Hawaii Pa’u Riders; a dozen marching bands that include several local high schools, the TCU Horned Frog Marching Band, and more than 30 wagons and floats. No motorized vehicles are allowed. A special guest of the parade will be 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Austen Smith of Keller, the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic Shooting Team who competed in women’s skeet shooting in the Paris Summer Games. Leading it will be two members of the legendary Rafter G Rodeo Company based in Terrell. Megan Gay Maier and Summer Gay are the next generation in a family that’s been connected to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo since since 1979. The women are proud to be cowgirls and granddaughters of the iconic Kay Gay who once said, “If you’re gonna ride a horse, you might as well be glamorous and flashy.” To Stock Show fans, she’s likely best known for the design and creation of the dozens of glamourous “outfits” worn by the Grand Entry’s 12 pivot setters and two riders who lead the procession carrying the American and Texas flags. Summer and Megan carry on that tradition today and will be at every rodeo performance at Dickies Arena. But Saturday’s parade comes first. The two-mile parade will begin on Main Street and Weatherford Street south of the Tarrant County Courthouse, will continue south to the Convention Center, turn right at 9th Street and right on Houston Street, and continue north on Houston Street. Street closures will begin at 9 a.m. The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo runs from January 17 through February 8. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.