“It’s phenomenal,” says Ron Souza, who along with his wife, Joanne, spearheads the team from the couple’s Desert Hills horse ranch. “We didn’t apply to be in the parade. They called us.

“When I asked the rest of the team if they’d be interested in participating in the parade, every one of them said ‘Yes.’ We raised most of the money for the trip, so it won’t cost much to go.”

On New Year’s Day, one million spectators will be along the parade route, all the major television networks will be capturing the event on tape, and camera crews from 72 foreign countries will also be present to broadcast the parade live to the rest of the world.

The Petite Elite performance is approximately 15 minutes of military style close‑order drill, set to the music of Glenn Miller and his big band orchestra. There are moves so close that the horses have to lift their heads to allow the opposing cart to pass by. The horses perform eye‑catching spins and pinwheels and maneuvers with precise timing that draw huge applause at every performance.

Although there are 12 members in the group, eight usually perform at one time.

“We’ll have all 12 there, with four of them carrying flags,” Ron says. “The biggest portion of our success is, we’ve been able to keep the primary eight people who helped us start this group. We’ve had some come and go. Mainly they just lose interest and stop coming to practice.

“Our routine for the parade will be a little more than five minutes,” Souza says. “We took the best parts from our regular routine and used them.”

Petite Elite has performed at many prestigious events along with talented equestrian teams from across the United States.

The team traveled to northern California last year to be a participant in “Dressage In The Wine Country,” a day of wine tasting and a show of superb horsemanship.

Exhibiting their miniature horses is a passion with team members. Their travels have taken them to the Arizona Juvenile Detention Center, Cowboys for Christ kids benefit, Turf Paradise Benefit for Kids with Cancer and many other destinations. The group has performed for both the regional and national convention of the North American Handicapped Riding Association and performs annually at the “Touch of Class” Miniature Horse Show in Scottsdale.

Hours and hours will be spent getting ready to go to Pasadena with drivers coming from as far away as 100 miles to practice.

“We have one couple who drives here twice or three times a week from Prescott to practice,” Joanne Souza said. “And one from Apache Junction.”

There are five couples involved with Petite Elite, and close to half of the members are retired. Two are teachers. There is a child care provider, a pharmacist, a courier, a horse therapy instructor, and a welder–who comes in very handy at times.

The team is constantly striving to improve its routine through practice, review and discussion as to what can be done better.

“When we go to L.A., we’ll be taking three motor homes and will all be staying in them,” Ron says. “We’re staying at the L.A. Equestrian Center near the horses. We’ll find out just exactly how much we like each other after a week in the motor homes.”

The group’s goal is to show the world that the American Miniature Horse is a performance horse, a show horse and a loving companion, Ron Souza says.

Twelve drivers and their American Miniature Horses will proudly represent Arizona as they make their way down the parade route. These twelve drivers, wearing black pants, white shirts, red vests and black western hats, call themselves ambassadors for the American Miniature Horse and believe this New Year’s Rose Parade performance will endear these beautiful animals to people all over the world.