61st annual event traveling down Sagunto Street was an equestrian extravaganza and doggie delight
It was a glorious summer day for the 61st annual Old Santa Ynez Days Parade, which was held on Saturday, June 21. The theme of this year’s parade was the same as last year’s: “Where the West Went Wild!” Throngs of people gathered in the little town to enjoy this annual event, which celebrates the Old West the old-fashioned way.
With the first notes of the national anthem, sung by Mia Goldman, the crowd became quiet, and everyone stood still with hand over heart until the anthem ended to uproarious applause.

The Grand Marshal of this year’s parade was Jillian Knight. According to her bio, Knight is a lifelong Santa Ynez Valley resident who was raised on a ranch in Gaviota before settling in Santa Ynez. She and her husband, Anthony, have been together for over 21 years and are raising their two children, Isabelle and Dominic, as fourth-generation locals.
For over 25 years, Knight has dedicated herself to nonprofit work, both locally and nationwide. She has volunteered in disaster relief efforts, advocated for human rights, and supported vulnerable populations, including veterans, the disabled, single mothers, and low-income families. Despite living with a connective tissue disorder and physical challenges, she brings empathy and insight to her role as a board member and operations consultant of the Santa Ynez Valley Therapeutic Riding Program.
“Volunteering has always been the most rewarding experience,” she said, reflecting on the joy she sees in students who benefit from the program. Her commitment to service continues to uplift and strengthen her community. Knight co-owns Grateful Heart Consulting, specializing in fundraising, event planning, and nonprofit compliance. She also administrates the SYV Local News & Emergency group on Facebook and provides the fire updates for the community.
This year’s parade featured approximately 28 entries, which included multiple groups on horseback, dance groups, vintage cars and tractors, dogs galore, and, of special mention, Luna, the amazing high-jumping dog, who, according to her owner, Ann Clausen, would have jumped all day had she permitted, and a Scottish Highland bull whose enormous horns were painted like the American flag. The event also featured a variety of street vendors selling their wares, food trucks, a pie contest, a kid’s area with face painting, pony rides, bounce houses, and a variety of other activities for children to enjoy, provided by Waldorf School and SYV Children’s Museum. Music filled the air all afternoon, provided by Beau Red and The Tailor Made from Ojai; The Ripley’s, a local band, and featured singer Hayli Carlton.
Leading this year’s parade was the Sheriff’s Mounted Unit, followed by three members of the VFW carrying flags. TheGrand Marshal waved to the crowd as she passed by with hoots and hollers from the bystanders, followed by members of the SYV Therapeutic Riding Program, Santa Ynez Valley Rec Queen, Kaci Caplan, riding in a Corvette, then came the amazing jumping dog, Luna, followed by a large group of dog owners from Dogs of Santa Ynez walking their canine friends.

Next up was SY Feed & Milling, Santa Ynez Valley Hounds, a foxhunting club, Santa Barbara County Cattlewomen, Domingos Family Tractors representing ag history, the Garcia Dance Studio from Lompoc, a miniature braying donkey and a Scottish Highland bull with patriotically painted horns.
Then came the Santa Maria Elks Lodge, Los Rancheros Visitadores, Santa Barbara County Search & Rescue, a 1958 yellow Corvette, the Santa Ynez 4-H Club with a tribe of goats, a vintage Jeep, the Santa Barbara County Trail Riders, the Santa Ynez Valley Elks Lodge, members of the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Folklorico Dance Club, more vintage tractors, a 1978 Flat Bottom Speed Boat called Bad Medicine, SYV Rodeo Western Heritage float, Old Santa Ynez Days Rodeo Queen Hailee Taylor, Santa Ynez Valley Penning Association, and last but not least, the Santa Ynez Jail holding a handful of local jailbirds.
But the day wasn’t all about the parade.
The Old Santa Ynez Days Pie Contest judges, Leonardo Curti and Joy Reinhardt, had a tough time picking winners from all the fabulous entries. The winner and Grand Champion was Mariah Montejano with her strawberry rhubarb pie. The Reserve Grand Champion was Cynthia Bacon with her triple berry crumble, for which she also won Best Filling; Best Crust was won by John Scott with his famous blackberry crumble. The Best Visual award went to Lisa Byrne, last year’s Grand Champion, for her fresh peach pie with butter crust crumble topping.
“It was a seriously tough competition — every entry was delicious and represented a labor of love on the part of the creator,” said Nancy Hunsicker, coordinator of the Pie Contest and parade announcer.
Following the conclusion of judging, the enthusiastic crowd enjoyed sampling all the pies, with a tip jar going to benefit the SYV Historical Museum.
Sponsors for the event were the following: Platinum: SY Band of Chumash Indians; Golden: Pony Cocktails + Kitchen; Silver: Mechanics Bank, St. George Construction, Charlotte’s of Santa Ynez, Uva Design Studio; Kid’s Corral: Santa Ynez Valley Rotary Club, Santa Ynez Valley Youth Rec; Beer: O’Connor Pest Control, Figueroa Mountain Brewing; Pie Contest: Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum; Frozen Wine Barrel: Inklings Printing Co.; Carriage Rides: Inklings Printing Co., Santa Ynez Feed & Milling; VIP Area: Pony Cocktails + Kitchen; and Entertainment: Hometown Insurance, Patriot Trailer Sales, Central Coast Landmark Properties, DMH Properties, and Robert Raucchaus.
“Business has been good, and the parade was really cute with the agility dog and the long-horned bull with the stars and stripes painted on his horns,” said Darlene Boyer, who along with Gail Page, manned a booth selling jewelry made by Diane Brown of Stone River Original. “It is so USA Americana with families, kids, dogs, and horses. It was beautiful; the whole day was refreshing.”
Charlotte Becerra, president of the Santa Ynez Chamber of Commerce, said the Old Santa Ynez Days in an excellent example of people working together.
“This event is produced completely by volunteers, over 40 of them,” she said. “They all have one thing in common: their love of the township of Santa Ynez and the people of this community. The main volunteers were: Event Chair/Vendors: Charlotte Becerra; Kid’s Corral: Barbie Duarte; Parade: Lisa Lyons; Logistics: Nicole Peña & Alvie Whitaker; Pie Contest: Nancy Hunsicker; Music: Chuy Vidales of Santa Barbara Wine Events; Badges: Brian Carillo; and Muscle: SYVUHS Pirate Football.”
“The Old Santa Ynez Days event was fantastic this year! The Chamber and dozens of dedicated volunteers work tirelessly for over six months to provide a fun, free, family event for the community,” Becerra saidWe are honored to carry this 61-year tradition on for the township and that, even after all of these years, it is still a fun, fantastic celebration and the whole town joins in the festivities,” said Becerra. “The Chamber works closely with the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum and the Western Heritage Foundation to provide three days of fun in the town. But we cannot do it without our amazing crew of volunteers and our generous sponsors, for whom we are most grateful.”






