Crowds turn out for Shropshire horse parade
[gallery] It certainly made their day - little Tyler Shelton, five, and four-year-old Georga-Mae Venables loved getting the chance to get close to one of the stars of an Easter parade.
The two youngsters got to meet Poppy, one of several horses which took part in the annual horse and carriage parade in north Shropshire yesterday.
The parade, featuring members of the British Driving Society, started at the lorry park in Prees Heath and travelled through Tilstock before finishing outside the Tesco store in Whitchurch town centre at noon.
Prizes were awarded for the best Easter bonnets and decorated vehicles. A commemorative horse brass and rosette were also handed out to each driver.
Dot Moreland, who has been involved in the parade for 20 years, said: "First of all it was a beautiful day.
"We had several horses, which included two pairs of driving horses, and lots of children enjoyed the looking at and sitting in the vehicles with their parents.
"There was quite a good crowd outside Tesco, which is where the event is always hosted because they provide the Easter eggs and prizes, so a lot of the shoppers saw the displays.
"We've held the event for 20 years now and people still ask us to make sure it is still on.
"It was a really big event and at one stage we did have up to 30 horses but although it's different now, due to health and safety reasons, it's still a very popular event."
Russell and Pat Hand were presented with the annual Easter Cup on the day.
Every year the British Driving Society holds a New Year's Day and Easter Monday horse parade in the Whitchurch area.
But due to bad weather this year's New Year's Day parade had to be cancelled.
Organisers said the event has been running for about 30 years and believed it was only the second time they had been forced to cancel it.
