The Four Buckaroos appeared like ghosts out of a swirling tornado of dust, mounted on fire-snorting steeds of magnificent stature; their eyes tearing from the wind and their hands synchronized with the rhythmic bobbing of their horses’ heads.

 “Yippee yi ya!” cried the four as they bounded past me in a blur of galloping hooves and spurring heels. The Four Buckaroos hurtled down Stevens Street at breakneck speed and seemed headed for disaster as they approached busy Sunset Boulevard. But much to my surprise they neither slowed nor flinched but instead leapt – as if the law of gravity were but a plaything to them – in one single bound across the entire breadth of the road, as cars roared by underneath them, and landed in full gallop on Sea Grove Avenue.

 “Surely they’ll tumble from their horses trying to make that sharp turn,” I thought. But they turned not and instead continued on a straight line onto the front lawn of someone’s house and – do my eyes betray me? – through a tree, up a driveway and on a collision course with the house. “The force of the impact will surely turn them to dust,” I thought. But again they leapt, this time into and through the large plate-glass window that blocked their path, but instead of breaking glass and tumbling bodies there was nothing – no sound at all. All that remained of the Four Buckaroos was a dense fog where there should have been carnage. The last sound I heard were the Four Buckaroos as they careened into the mist – “Yippee yi ya!” they cried, “Yippee yi yo!”

 And when I turned back to see what these four horsemen had left I discovered…“Horsin’ Around in Cape May,” a new two-day event in Cape May dedicated to everything equine in the city. Horsin’ Around, held Saturday November 4 and Sunday November 5, features a real live horse show, a stick horse rodeo, craft vendors and a carriage parade at various locations around town.

 “This is going to be the greatest event,” exclaimed Bev Carr-Morgan, owner of Cape May Carriage Company and one of the organizers of the event along with the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May. “We’re going to have a blast.”

 And what of those four fire-snorting, hard-riding, yippee-yi-yaing buckaroos that disappeared into the mist?

 “Stick horses really spur the imagination,” said Bev. “They’re the best. You can ride the mountains, ride the beach and wake up in the morning with your trusty steed on the pillow next to you. The Four Buckaroos were Madison and Jackson Shiffbauer, T.J. Shoffler and Max Gilbert on stick horses. They’re all three-years-old.”

 Oh.

 Stick horses?

 “That’s right, stick horses,” answered Bev. “Stick horses are often a child’s first horse. You don’t have to feed them or clean up after them, you don’t need shoes for them, veterinary care, a boarding stable or anything, plus they don’t stink. They can sleep in bed with you and you can make them any color you want”

 “Horsin’ around in Cape May” is designed to introduce children (and adults too) to the joy of horses. Horsin’ Around includes a stick horse-building workshop and a stick horse rodeo on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. at the Rotary Gazebo on Lafayette Street in the city (children must be accompanied by parents). Kids can design their own stick horse– consisting of a flat wooden head and a stick body – including the color of their steed’s mane, its eyes, down to the eyelashes and the horse’s spots. Following the stick horse-building workshop is the stick horse rodeo at 1 p.m. at Sea Horse Farm on Taylor Lane and Seashore Road in Cold Spring. “These are memories that will last a lifetime,” said Bev.

 The event is something that Bev used to do years ago but dropped as it became more and more time consuming. Now she’s back at it and expects it to really take off, er, gallop off.

 And this stick horse rodeo sounds like a ton of fun. Children will be grouped according to age (3-5 and 5-8) and will compete in six different events including barrel racing, which has the kids “galloping” through the barrel course on their stick horses. The calf-roping event features riders tossing hula hoops onto a plastic cow-target. There’s also – get this – a pig herding competition as well. Riders will be given a fly swatter and will need to “herd” the pigs (pink balloons) across a finish line. Every rider will be given a ribbon and top riders will also be recognized. “Everybody’s a winner at the rodeo,” said Bev.

 But stick horses aren’t the only horses at Horsin’ Around. The weekend opens with a real live horse show and competition at Sea Horse Farm on Saturday at 8 am. The show is part of the English Circuit of South Jersey competition tour and features traditional English horse events such as equitation, hunter, and jumper classes. You’ll get to see local riders attired in proper “English Hunter” attire such as the traditional high-necked short and form-fitting breeches. The show will also feature crafter from around the area beginning at 9 a.m. as well as food booths from local restaurants.

 On Sunday a carriage parade will wander through town with horse and carriages from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The parade leaves the Cape May Carriage barn at Sunset and Stevens Street at 11 a.m. and proceeds to the Rotary Gazebo where they should arrive by noon. There an announcer will give information on the carriages and the horses.

 “This is the first year we’ll be doing this in a long time,” said Carr. “Once it’s an established event we feel it will draw more people to Cape May. We want to get more of the community involved next year, including restaurants, and make it bigger. But hey, first you have to ride the stick horse before you get on the big horse right? This should be wonderful.”

Horsin’ Around Cape May
All Events Are Free

Saturday, November 4
8 a.m. - English Circuit of South Jersey horse show at Sea Horse Farm, Taylor Lane and Seashore Road , Cold Spring. Featuring crafters and food from local restaurants and traditional English horse events such as jumping.

11 a.m. – Stick horse building workshop, Rotary Gazebo, Lafayette Street, Cape May. Children chaperoned by parents are invited to come and build their own stick horse with an undecorated stick horse and materials provided by the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May.

1 p.m. stick horse rodeo, Sea Horse Farm, Cold Spring. Featuring stick horse events like barrel racing and “pig herding” (pink balloons and a fly swatter)

Sunday, November 5
11 a.m. Carriage Parade leaves the barn at Seashore and Stevens Street arriving at the Rotary Gazebo at noon, featuring information on the horses and carriages.