Trail riders to make their annual appearance

It’s an annual tradition when the normal sounds of traffic in downtown San Marcos are replaced by the sound of horses’ hooves hitting the pavement.

Once again this year, the Greater Randolph Area (GRA) Trail Riders will be making a stop here during their horseback journey to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.

The visit, sponsored by the Main Street program, will be Feb. 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. For the duration, inside lanes of North LBJ Drive and San Antonio Street around Courthouse Square will be closed. Trail riders will be escorted by the Hays County Sheriff’s Office.

Main Street will host the riders for lunch at restaurants around the square. In addition, Jon and Val Agee will cook their “almost world famous” Dutch-oven peach cobbler on the Square and serve it free to the public. There will also be free “Cowboy Coffee” available as well.

“The trail riders have been stopping in Downtown for more than 20 years,” Interim Main Street Manager Josie Falletta said, adding that the tradition is a “cherished” one.

The trail riders’ journey starts on Feb. 1 at the Dahlstrom Ranch in Buda, where they will stay overnight. 

On Feb. 3 the riders will reach the Freeman Ranch just outside San Marcos. Prior to entering the city on Feb. 4, they will have breakfast at the home of Jim and Claire Pickett. They will visit the Comal County Fair Grounds on Feb. 5 and from there will proceed to Marion and then San Antonio, where the Stock Show & Rodeo runs Feb. 1 through 8.