LEMMON, S.D. -- Horses first, tractors last.
Horses before tractors, this has always been the way the yearly Boss Cowman parade in Lemmon is done.
The celebration, and many say Lemmon itself, is nothing without its rodeo.
The emphasis on horses and cowboys is no different this year, as thousands of Lemmon residents, past and present, celebrated the town's centennial with the Boss Cowman Centennial Parade down Main Street on Saturday.
The theme for the centennial parade was "Lemmon Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," with one float in the parade finishing the thought with the words, "...guaranteed to have a good time."
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It was around 79 degrees at the start of the parade, "a beautiful Dakota day," according to Shane Penfield, one of the parade announcers.
"It should be a great show today. I believe I haven't seen this many people on Main Street before - it's nice to see everyone," he told the crowd before the parade began.
Visitors began to bunch up on Main Street, some past the sidewalk, more than a half hour before the parade started.
Some visitors found time to visit Petrified Wood Park across the street.
The temperature stayed steadily in the 80s throughout the parade. Dacotah Bank gave away free bottles of water and ice pops were thrown from floats. Throughout the parade, fire trucks turned their hoses on unsuspecting parade goers in efforts to keep the crowd cool.
The parade, delayed at the start due to miscommunication and one vintage car running out of fuel, began at 10:30 a.m. and ran for nearly an hour and a half. During the parade, there were more than 100 floats, a number well above what was originally expected by Lemmon centennial officials.
The Lemmon Police Department led the way for the Lemmon's Third Detachment Color Guard, which is part of the South Dakota National Guard's 842nd Engineer Company.
Next in line was the grand marshal of the parade, longtime Lemmon resident Vernon Evanson, followed by the Lemmon Junior High and Lemmon High School marching bands.
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The Grand River Museum of Lemmon had a float featuring local sculptor John Lopez and his latest creation, a dinosaur made entirely out of scrap metal. It was unveiled Friday at the museum and will later be installed in front of the museum.
Other floats in the parade included several high school class reunions, past Boss Cowman honorees, many vintage tractors and vehicles, floats promoting local businesses and churches, the Lemmon and Hettinger fire departments and the West River Shrine Club, promoting the West River Shrine Circus.
Shriners promoted the circus performance by driving small cars across the street, which waded through the parade while shooting small water guns at people.
Saturday's events included the final day of the Boss Cowman Rodeo and a repeat performance of the West River Shrine Circus at Hal Schroeder Field.
