Editor’s note: Due to weather conditions in Washington, the Diamond D Cowgirls performance has been canceled.
Elizabeth Dabney and her professional mounted drill team, the Diamond D Cowgirls, have performed at large rodeos and equine expos many times.
But the Covington group’s biggest performance yet — what Dabney said is “the pinnacle of my career” — will be in the Washington, D.C, parade at the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump. With frigid temperatures expected Monday, the parade will be moved inside the Capital One Arena, Trump said in a social media post Friday.
“To be able to take these girls and have this opportunity to go to Washington and ride in front of our president of the United States, it’s very humbling, and we are just so incredibly honored,” Dabney said. “It’s a little bit surreal.”
Credit: Courtesy of Diamond D Cowgirls
Credit: Courtesy of Diamond D Cowgirls
Dabney, along with 15 other cowgirls ranging from ages 18 to 45, will be on horseback performing in the parade, waving American flags and wearing red, white and blue costumes. Five others will participate as banner walkers. The mounted drill team is the “entertainment of the horse world.” They perform choreographed patterns together and have competed and performed across the country.
They applied for the parade in early December and found out just before Christmas that they and their horses were chosen to participate. Several other equine acts from around the U.S. will also be in the parade. The only other Georgia group invited to perform is the Lowndes High School “Georgia Bridgemen” Marching Band from Valdosta.
The Diamond D Cowgirls are a part of Dabney Riding Academy, a horseback riding school she founded. It has nine drill teams, with riders as young as 5 and as old as 75, Dabney said.
“When I was a little girl, I went to one of the horse expos, and I saw another horse drill team there,” Dabney said. “They came in — flags flapping, riding fast, cool music, awesome costumes — and it was just so exhilarating.”
After joining other drill teams and teaching riding lessons at her academy, she decided to start her own professional team about 10 years ago.
“We all share the love and passion for horses,” she said.
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