Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga news
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Longtime local resident Al Watson brings an abundance of smiles, joy and laughter to people of all ages, but especially children during the holiday season, where he participates in the local Christmas parades with his family.
“There’s nothing like having your family, your children and your grandchildren doing all this with you. Up until my dad passed away, he rode with us. So, at one point there were four generations doing this at one time,” Watson said.
Watson participates in over 10 parades a year, with the bulk of them being local Christmas and Mardi Gras parades, where he and his family ride horses through the parade route. During the parade, Watson and his family hand out candy, toys or just come up with their horses, Stormy, Sugar and Trigger to say hello.
However, Watson has been participating in local parades since the 1970’s with his wife, children and family ever since he saw a particular parade in downtown Montgomery in 1974.
This year Watson, his daughter Kathy Shirah and grandson Hunter Shirah participated in the Prattville, Wetumpka, Millbrook, East Chase and Troy Christmas parades to name a few.
“I’ve had horses since I was five-years-old. Growing up we had to help my dad with the cattle, we all had regular jobs but we had 192 heads of brickhouse. It had just become natural to just keep going in that field with livestock and agriculture. When I got married and we had children and my grandkids came along, they just really enjoyed all the horses and the animals. It just went from one thing to another,” Watson said.
But what made Watson stick to bringing joy to children around special occasions and in parades was actually rodeos, and miracle rodeos specifically. A miracle rodeo is a chance for children who are sick or handicapped to come and participate in rodeo festivities.
“The night before the rodeo we would get everything ready, and they would bring hundreds of kids, who had difficulties, injuries, were handicapped and everything. We started riding them with our horses,” Watson said.
Watson had a proud career with Coca Cola for over 36 years where he would represent Coca Cola in these respective rodeos. He attended one in Birmingham where the Birmingham Children’s Hospital brought hundreds of children who participated in the miracle rodeo.
But for Watson it’s more than just bringing his horses for children to see, it’s bringing laughter and smiles to a child’s heart. “You don’t have to be rich, because I’m certainly not rich, but you bring joy and happiness into a little kid’s face. If you ever see the twinkle in their eye and smile, it’s all worthwhile,” Watson said.
In March, Watson stated that Montgomery has an annual miracle rodeo where he has been donating his horses and his time to help handicapped or impaired children in the area for over 25 years.
Watson also participates in rodeos with his family, his grandson specifically, where he helps him in his bareback and bronc riding endeavors.
Being around horses all his life, Watson knows how to specifically train horses to be the perfect participant in what could be a scary environment for a horse.
“It takes time and patience, and you know you start off with a little bit, and the more you do it the better off they get. They just get to where they adapt. We can carry flags off the horses and things like that. But that’s not something that comes naturally to a horse.”
Watson stated that his horses are members of his family, and that it takes a tremendous amount of trust and patience for them to get to this point. But Stormy, Sugar and Trigger were as calm as could be, and even bent down for kisses and pets from children on multiple occasions.
“Sometimes that flag will start flowing and popping, so they have to learn that that’s not dangerous because it’s their natural instinct to protect themselves. It’s repetition over and over and over again, kindness and gentleness that make them comfortable,” Watson said.
Watson also stated that his two-and-a-half-year-old grandchild is already riding and noted that a lot of children nowadays have never had the opportunity to ride a horse, much less touch one. That is why he loves to ride his horses in the parade as education and experience.
“You see a kid at a parade, they can be from toddlers on and you see their parents are holding them up and you ride along there and give them a handful of candy or a teddy bear. It means so much to them, and I’m just an ordinary guy, I’m nobody. But when I put on those chaps and a cowboy hat and get on the horse, in their eyes we just became somebody. We just do it to give back to somebody else,” Watson said.
While Watson is certainly not a nobody, he has touched the hearts and brought joy to thousands of children and adults alike in the River Region and Alabama over the years. Something Watson noted was that a lot of people pose for pictures with the horses almost any chance they get.
“We’ll take a child and set them up there with us and let their parents take a picture, and you know what? They’ll keep that until that kid gets grown, and you’ve made a lasting impression in that child’s life,” Watson said.
Watson doesn’t take his family and the smiles that he creates for granted. He stated the most important aspect you can give someone is your time.
“We all live in a world full of turmoil. It’s rewarding to us to show a little bit of time out of this world that is good, wholesome and right. God has made it possible where I can do all this, there’s no doubt about that,” Watson said.
