Merced Sheriff's Posse Will Be Riding High at Inauguration

The Merced County Sheriff’s Posse has been riding since the 1940s. The group appears in parades around California, and this week members are heading to Washington, D.C. -- with 14 horses in tow -- for their third inauguration day parade.

Since the election of Donald Trump, California has emerged as a leader in the movement to challenge the incoming administration on issues like climate change and immigration, and there are a lot of protests planned both here and in D.C. on inauguration day. But for the posse, the chance to be part of this historic tradition transcends politics.

At a fundraiser for the trip last week, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke took the stage in a white Stetson and gleaming belt buckle.

"We’re gonna represent not only Merced County, but the Central Valley and not only the Central Valley but the State of California in Washington, D.C., when we go march in front of our newly elected president," he told the crowd. "Folks, your support to help us get there has been overwhelming. Sometimes, literally, I want to cry."

They need all the support they can get, because Warnke says it’s costing them $25,000 just to transport the horses across the country. They’ll be riding in luxury climate-controlled trailers, he says, with handlers and individual pens.

Warnke admits 'sheriff’s posse' is kind of a misnomer for the group. “I’m the only gunslinger,” he says. They’re mostly farmers and ranchers. But Warnke says it sounds cooler this way. “What are we gonna be called the, uh, almond tree growers posse? Gotta be sheriff’s posse."

Some 20 posse members are heading east, Warnke says, and 14 of them will ride Palominos in the inaugural parade wearing dazzling outfits.

"The uniforms are actually jeweled with rubies, emeralds and rhinestones," Warnke says. "This isn’t one of those that you went and bought at K-Mart." The horses will be decked out, too, in intricate silver-embellished saddles. Posse members will carry American flags and wave as they ride by the new president.

For supporters at the benefit, though, the inaugural ride is more than pomp. Peter and Katherine Stavrianoudakis aren’t Trump fans, but they're posse supporters.

“Often our voices aren’t heard," Katherine says of Central Valley residents. “There are times that people forget about us because we're lower educated, we have a high crime rate. There's a lot of problems in the Valley, but there’s a lot to be proud of, and that’s what the posse is -- we’re being recognized at a national level.”

Her husband Peter chimes in to say he went to high school with Sheriff Warnke and that everybody knows everybody here. "That little hometown feel will be in D.C.," he says. "That’s kind of special."

Not all Merced residents see it that way. Outside the fundraiser a few anti-Trump protesters braved the rain, trying to ensure that no public funds will be used for the trip.

In the end, Sheriff Warnke says, the group raised over $60,000 in donations, enough to cover the trip. The posse had decided they’d try to ride in the inauguration parade no matter who won the election.

“Whether you care about the man or not, bottom line is the president is the leader of the greatest nation on Earth,” Warnke says. “We’re going to represent every citizen in our communities and we’ll be doing so with our heads held high."

Follow the group's D.C. doings on the posse Facebook page.