ERWINVILLE - A family tradition takes to the streets of Erwinville on Fat Tuesday.

This parade has all the elements of a great parade, floats and beads, but organizers say the real stars are the horses.

Even as they prepped their horses, participants said this Mardi Gras day carries immense pride for them, pride in the sense of tradition and place.

When you're there, you can see the pride from the beginning of the parade route.

Fifteen-year-old London Key says her whole family competes inrodeo, but on this day, she's riding for fun, participating in the Erwinville parade for the second year in a row.

"Everybody's having fun," Key said. "Everyone's having a good time."

Katie Major raised her family on horseback, teaching her kids to ride before they could walk.

Just like Key, on Tuesday, Major's family rode together for the second consecutive year.

"It's a long tradition," Major said.

The Erwinville parade started more than 80 years ago, but was temporarily halted more than a decade ago. Now, after the parade started up again, everything this year went off without a hitch.