Another honor for Hughes
Grand marshal of Aug. 11 Pikes Peak or Bust Parade
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Long-time Old Colorado City leader Dave Hughes will be the grand marshal of this year's Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo.
The invitation to fill the ceremonial leadership position was “in recognition of your life-long accomplishments,” Parade Chairman John O'Donnell states in a letter to Hughes. The parade, marking the start of the annual rodeo, will start at 10 a.m. Aug. 11, going through downtown Colorado Springs. Asked about the honor, the 75-year-old retired Army colonel, business owner and self-described “maverick” talked about how he would dress and the horse he'd be riding. “I'm going to wear my black cavalry hat with crossed sabres,” he said, referring to the hat that was given to him by men who served under him in the Korean War. Combined with a black jacket, a brace of miniature medals (including three silver stars) and an 1800s cavalry officer's sabre, he said he hopes to resemble one of the Union officers from the Battle of Glorieta Pass. (That was the significant Civil War battle involving Colorado troops - one which Hughes has been researching for an upcoming non-fiction book.) He plans to ride a Morgan horse, 15 hands high, that he's renting from Academy Stables. “I told them I wanted a big, good-looking horse,” he explained. Raised on his family's ranch east of Kiowa and later a member of the Army's 7th Cavalry, Hughes related with bemusement that one of the parade organizers had asked another if he knew how to ride, to which the second responded, “Don't ask him that to his face.” This is the second major honor this year for Hughes, who followed his military career with leadership roles in computer technology and the redevelopment of Old Colorado City. In May, he was awarded the Distinguished Graduate award by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Westside Pioneer Article |