Tally-Ho: We’re Part of Your Community!
Where to Meet the Tally-Ho Horses at Community Events Throughout the Year
Tally-Ho Carriage Tours has been serving the Victoria, BC, area since 1903 and is proud to be recognized as a key part of the culture of this beautiful city.
As a team, we are passionate about not only our horses but our community too, both in downtown Victoria and in our home community of Saanich where our Hidden Acres Farm is located.
As such, we are glad to take part in multiple events throughout the year that give members of our community the chance to come and meet our horses and experience the magic of a carriage ride.
In addition to participating in these community events, we support dozens of local fundraising events throughout the year and contribute to many charitable causes, including animal care, children’s causes, cancer research and heart and stroke research.
Read on to find out which community events you can find Tally-Ho at throughout the year.
Upcoming Holiday Events
Nothing evokes the nostalgia of Christmas past like the sight and sound of a horse-drawn carriage. At Tally-Ho, we enjoy being part of community holiday events such as:
1. Victoria Santa Parade
November 25
The 41st Annual Santa Parade, run by the Greater Victoria Festival Society, takes to the streets of downtown Victoria at the end of November. This year, we will be bringing a beautiful horse-drawn carriage to this parade to share the magic of Christmas with the crowd.
2. Saanichton Community Christmas
December 2, 2023
Tally-Ho enjoys being a part of this community event that raises funds for the Saanich Peninsula Lions food bank. We will have three horses and carriages at this event and reservations are required. In addition, children have the chance to win one of our beautiful plush Clydesdale horses!
We love that our traditional and decorative carriages add a touch of traditional holiday spirit to this event.
Victoria Day Parade
This annual parade, held on Victoria Day each May, has been taking place in the British Columbia capital city for over 120 years. The event features over 100 decorated floats as well as marching bands, military vehicles and vintage cars. The parade lasts for 3 hours, making it one of the largest parades in Canada.
We are proud to have three of our draft horses pull the Victoria Fire Department’s old steam pump through the parade. It takes three months of preparation with the horses to get them into top shape, both physically and mentally, so they can calmly deal with the crowds, unusual sights and loud sounds.
The sight of these majestic horses pulling a vintage vehicle is not only a great show for the public, it’s an amazing experience for our horse and human team too.
Saanich Fair
The Saanich Fair, which takes place every September on Labour Day weekend, has been running since 1868 and offers visitors the chance to meet draft horses and watch demonstrations of their pulling power and other skills.
Tally-Ho attends this fair with our draft horses every year. Our team enjoys taking part in the displays and having the opportunity to educate visitors about our beloved draft horses.
Events at Hidden Acres Farm
As part of our commitment to educating the public about the role and value of draft horses, we make special efforts to engage with younger members of our community. We hope that by meeting and learning about draft horses, we can inspire the next generation to develop meaningful and caring relationships with all animals.
To share our love of our gentle draft horses with everyone, we have started offering open houses at Hidden Acres Farm throughout the year. These allow those who would otherwise not have a chance to visit us and meet our horses. Our open days are aimed at educating people about draft horses and explaining how we work to protect the at-risk breeds on our farm.
Do Tally-Ho Horses Enjoy Being Part of Community Events?
At Tally-Ho, we choose horses that are calm and confident to be part of our herd. However, regardless of how they come to us, all our horses are given extensive training to ensure they are comfortable and confident around noisy and unpredictable things – like humans and vehicles.
This training, which takes place before they start pulling guests in carriages, makes our horses more than prepared to be part of community events where they will meet lots of people in busy, noisy environments.
While our horses are naturally social and enjoy interacting with people, it is our role as their caretakers to ensure they don’t get tired or overwhelmed in any situation. We know our herd well, and what the limits for each horse are, so we can ensure we rest them frequently and only take them to events we know they will enjoy.
Tally-Ho – Experience Part of Victoria, BC’s History
As Victoria’s original stagecoach company, Tally-Ho has been part of the history of the city for 120 years and we are proud of our deeply routed connection to this community.
We are always glad to meet members of our community and visitors to the area, whether it’s on a carriage ride in downtown Victoria or a behind-the-scenes visit to our farm.
We look forward to meeting you at one of these community events or for your own horse-drawn sightseeing tour soon.
