Watch out for Horses...

Ya gotta understand that my friend Jean loves horses. She knows 'em, she rides 'em, she loves 'em. So when she and I continued down the parade route in downtown Podor, Senegal together and found horseback riders, she was thrilled.

I'm not talking a few people, or even a few dozen. I'm talking, literally, hundreds of people on horseback, lining both sides of the narrow street. The horses were all stopped, flank to flank, and facing toward the center of the street, making it easy to see the beautiful traditional costumes the riders wore. We stopped at one horse, then the next, admiring the horse and talking with the rider, who invariably wanted their picture taken. I was happy to oblige.

But then all of a sudden, all the horses started to move toward the center of the street -- where we were. I guess the parade had started up again, and the riders wanted to continue. For a brief moment, it struck me that there were hundreds of horses heading toward Jean and I, and we were in the way. I grabbed her arm in fear and said something inane, and she just laughed and realized she'd have something to tease me about for a long time.

See more photos of the horses at the West African cultural parade here.

License (for editorial use) photos from the West Afican cultural parade here.