KOHALA — After an absence of more than a decade, a grand tradition on Hawaii Island — the majestic Old Hawaii On Horseback pageant — makes a comeback to the island this September.
The event will be staged on the Waikii Ranch polo grounds on Saturday, Sept. 14, with attendees enjoying the sounds of Grammy Award winner John Cruz from 10-11 a.m. followed by the pageant from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Old Hawaii On Horseback pageant was staged multiple years by Waimea’s “First Lady,” Anna Lindsey Perry-Fiske, on the front lawn of her landmark white house in Waimea. The event drew as many as 1,000 spectators per performance, eager to see the event for the spectacle it was — dozens of heavily costumed riders on horseback, men and women, portraying significant events in Waimea’s history such as Captain George Vancouver bringing the first cattle to Hawaii in 1793. They also depict figures in Hawaii history, including monarchs of the Kamehameha lineage, Captain Cook, Queen Lili‘uokalani, Princess Kaiulani and members of the John Palmer Parker family tree.
Perry-Fiske put on nine performances of the mounted pageant as a fundraiser for the Hawaii Heart Association, from 1964 to 1983. Waimea’s Paniolo Preservation Society took over hosting the event in 1996. Since that time PPS has hosted four more pageants.
According to pageant co-chair Patricia Bergin, this year’s revival caps an 18-month Na Wahine Holo Lio celebration by the PPS that included the January opening of a new wing at the PPS Heritage Center honoring women paniolo.
“Na Wahine Holo Lio celebrates the unheralded role of mothers, wives, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, sisters and aunts in Hawaii’s history and Hawaii’s ranching industry,” Bergin said. “These women never seem to get recognition, yet there are women who are very capable owners and managers of ranches. The revival of the famed pageant serves as the culminating event for our focus on them.”
In addition to participating in the mounted pageants from the Fiske-Perry days, Bergin has chaired all subsequent pageants sponsored by the PPS. She volunteered to take it over, she said, because she listened to what Perry-Fiske had to say and it was always, “It has to be the old way.”
“Anna didn’t like horses with tons of leis and the women with tons of leis and headgear and stuff. She said you need to see the beauty of the woman, and the beauty of the horse. She was very insistent about that.
“That’s the tradition I’ve tried to keep up in her memory,” Bergin continued, adding that the Old Hawaii on Horseback Pageant is not like other island parades.
“Yes, we will have island princesses,” she said, “but the most important thing is the fact that we’re doing history on horseback.”
This year’s pageant will feature nearly 100 riders — many of them among the state’s more accomplished horsemen and horsewomen — dressed in magnificent period costumes with two narrators telling the story. Because this year’s pageant honors women, Bergin asked professional entertainer Christy Lassiter from Hilo to serve as one of the narrators along with Richard Kaniho, a Lindsey descendant. An expert horsewoman herself, Lassiter has ridden in every PPS Old Hawaii on Horseback pageant and her mother, Pudding Lassiter of Hilo, rode in all of Perry-Fiske’s pageants.
Another rider who has been involved in all of the pageants over the years is Joan Greenwell Anderson, current PPS president. Anderson is serving as co-chair for this year’s pageant along with Bergin.
“As a young girl I have been a rider in the Old Hawaii pageant since its inception way back to the day Anna Lindsey Perry-Fiske started it,” Anderson said. “Coming from a fourth-generation ranching family in Hawaii, this pageant is very special and close to my heart. It portrays the first cattle and horses coming to Hawaii as well as pa‘u riders, island queens, the first Mexican vaqueros and many more.
“It’s something that should not be missed by anyone who wants to see Hawaii from the past to the present in authentic costume.”
A portion of proceeds from this year’s Old Hawaii on Horseback Pageant will benefit the Paniolo Preservation Society. Some bleacher seating will be available; however, patrons are encouraged to bring folding lawn chairs and sun and weather protection as needed. Paniolo lunches and snacks will be available. No coolers please.
Advance tickets for adults are $30 or $35 at the gate. Keiki 12 and under are free.
More information and ticket purchasing information is available at www.paniolopreservation.org or by calling 854-1541.
