DECATUR - Where the horses go, the pooper scoopers won't be far behind.

Several horses took part in the Razzle Dazzle Goodtimes Parade at the Decatur Celebration on Saturday, and some communicated their displeasure with the loud music and colorful crowd by whinnying. Others did what horses do, but plenty of white-shirted volunteers were on hand with brooms, shovels and garbage cans.

"Oh, great, we're following horses," one person holding a rope for a giant balloon said to another.

One group of horses belonged to Hoofprints for Christ, an equestrian ministry sponsored by the Southern Baptist Church but nondenominational in its work.

Ann McKinney led her daughter Bronwyn, astride her miniature horse, Ranger.

"She's mad at me because I won't take him off the lead," McKinney said. "But I'm afraid of what he might do."

Indeed, Ranger's head was on a swivel as he contemplated the various sights and sounds around him, but Bronwyn, 5, who broke him herself, was right at home in the saddle.

Hoofprints for Christ sponsors various horseback riding events and activities that are family-friendly, said Kay Antrim, and it has started a cowboy church. The next meeting is 6 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Decatur-Macon County Fairground in the 4-H building.

Nearby, Addus Health Care's Rose Knapp and Jan Black outfitted their king and queen for a day, clients Danny Hill and Mattie Green, with sashes and red velvet crowns for their ride in the parade in an auto furnished by Bob Brady Auto Mall.

"This is a new experience for me," said Green, who never stopped smiling.

Addus caregivers help keep seniors and people with disabilities at home instead of in a nursing home by providing personal care such as housecleaning, laundry and cooking, Knapp said. They even take clients shopping or on outings to give them a change of scenery.

Kevin Thompson of New Berlin brought his high-stepper, an old-fashioned bicycle of the sort with the huge front wheel and tiny back wheel. There are three ways to dismount a bicycle like that, Thompson said: stepping off using a peg on the rear, swinging off the side - and head over heels over the handlebars. That last is rarely the first choice.

"They call that taking a header," he said with a grin.

In front of the Law Enforcement Center, 3-year-old Makaylee Sills waited to climb aboard her grandfather's yellow Corvette for her triumphant procession through the festival. She wore a pink dress with black polka-dots and the tall, glittering bunny crown she won as 2006 America's Little Miss USA Overall Grand Supreme, a very large title for a very small girl.

"She's going to compete at the state level this month," said Brandy, her proud mom.

The Sills family also had the benefit of being close enough to listen as the Illinois Elks Pipes and Drums warmed up on the front lawn of the Church of the Living God CWFF. Wearing navy tartan kilts, the bagpipers and drummers practiced in the shade cast by the church building while Decatur Elks 401 spread their giant American flag prior to taking their place in the line with the band.

The pipes and drums band is an offshoot of the St. Andrews Society of Central Illinois Pipes and Drums out of Springfield, and the smaller group at the parade, all members of the Elks, was formed "just for fun," said leader Bill Block. The group practices about once a week and performs in parades and at festivals. All are champion-level bagpipers and sell CDs of their music to raise funds for charities that benefit children with disabilities.

The parade was so big that the last few entries hadn't even set out when the first few groups had finished and came back to the staging area at the AmerenIP Plaza at Macon and Main streets.

Valerie Wells can be reached at vwells@herald-review.com or 421-7982.