GREAT FALLS – Gov. Brian Schweitzer and the state’s congressional delegation plan to ride on horseback during the inaugural parade for President-elect Barack Obama.
“As someone who was raised on the back of a horse, it will be an honor to saddle up to represent our great state of Montana in the inaugural parade,” said Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont.
The horses for Schweitzer, Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester and Rehberg will be provided by the Oakland Heights Farm in Virginia.
Montana’s representation in the parade will also include 20 Crow Indians on horses trucked to Washington, D.C. from the Crow Reservation. Sara Kuban, a spokeswoman for Baucus, says another 20 Crow tribal members will be on a float in the Jan. 20 parade.
For Baucus, it will be his eighth inauguration since he witnessed Jimmy Carter being sworn in 32 years ago.
“This is clearly different,” said Baucus, D-Mont. “There’s so much hope, so much promise in the air.”
Inauguration planners expect as many as 4 million people to attend the event.
“It’ll be a heck of an honor to represent Montana and to see Montanans from all corners of the state come to the Capitol for an historic day,” said Tester, D-Mont. “The inauguration is going to celebrate working together, hope and new opportunity.”