ENTERTAINMENT

Step-N-Strut hosting its last trail ride - almost

Herman Fuselier
hfuselier@theadvertiser.com

Step-N-Strut, the three-day zydeco trail ride that attracts as many as 10,000 people per day to St. Landry Parish, is back for its 17th year. But many fans are already looking ahead to Step-N-Strut 2016.

The Step-N-Strut Trail Ride attracts more than 10,000 people per day to Opelousas.

The event will return next year with an expanded concert schedule, youth-oriented horse events and more.

“We have new ways of satisfying the customer,” said Paul Scott of Opelousas, a Step-N-Strut organizer. “We’ll have a bigger involvement in horsing with horsing expos, riding expos, more kids involved in riding.

“It’ll all be in one spot, instead of up and down the road. We do have something planned for the road that can go into any city. We realized we’ve got to satisfy and keep the people happy. We have to keep their head dry and their feet dry too. We’re looking for covered arenas, where we don’t have to worry about the weather.

“We’ll have four days of music, Thursday to Sunday, with different genres. Zydeco will be the king, but we’ll spice it up with more southern soul, more country and more R&B.”

The annual trail ride was originally set for Zydeco Park in Plaisance. On Sunday, organizers announced it would relocate to the Yambilee Building and St. Landry Parish AG Arena in Opelousas. Organizers said heavy rain on Halloween weekend, along with a forecast for more showers next weekend, prompted the change.

With the move inside the city limits of Opelousas, the trail ride portion of the event has been suspended. The 16 zydeco and R&B bands scheduled to play will be reduced.

Step-N-Strut is the granddaddy of Creole trail rides, three-day festivals of live music, cooking, camping and horsemanship. Trail ride groups travel to support each other’s rides, resulting in hundreds of customized pick-up trucks, trailers, campers and RVs following these events.

In recent years, attendance exploded at Step-N-Strut. The event outgrew locations in Leonville and the acreage surrounding Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino in Opelousas.

Traffic congestion and other concerns sparked local government to limit the numbers of horses and riders in the main ride. The event moved to north Louisiana in 2013, before returning to the parish last year in Plaisance.

Scott said smaller rides and horse expos are in the event’s future plans. Youth will be a major focus.

“Horses for a young person is better than sagging (pants) and all this other craziness,” said Scott. “Unlike a motorcycle, you just can’t go and put a horse up. You’ve got to train and feed this thing. You can’t just shut it down and go in the house.

“It teaches them responsibility. The 16-year-old of today is the 26-year-old of tomorrow. He’ll be bringing his kids around to ride.

“We’re really morphing into a bigger, more complex event, but still having this horsemanship event.”

Herman Fuselier is music and entertainment writer for the Times of Acadiana and Daily Advertiser. Contact him at hfuselier@theadvertiser.com.

Want to go?

17th Annual Step-N-Strut Trail Ride

Nov. 6-8

Yambilee Building, Opelousas

Information: stepandstrutriders.com