HOUSTON -- Men and women who have traveled the open trails stopped at Memorial Park Friday before riding into downtown for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Milton Beckendorf, the trail boss for the Saltgrass Trail Association, said the annual trail ride is ingrained in his family as much as it is in Houston's history.

"Once it's in your blood, it's in your blood," he said. "It'll never go away. This is a big event for my family."

Beckendorf has four generations of his family on the trail. His father started with Saltgrass in the mid-50s and was trail boss from 1979 to 1981.

"Thirty years later, I'm the first son to follow the dad's trail boss position," Beckendorf said. "My son is now the wagon boss on this same wagon and my grandkids are here with us."

A procession of thousands of cowboys and cowgirls brought the Old West to the big city.

"This is reminiscent of those days," said Rudy Cano, vice president of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. "Obvously, we not driving cattle into Houston. They come in on freight cars and in 18-wheelers and things, but it is part of our western heritage and culture."

Houstonians enjoyed being a part of of the celebration.

"It's family-oriented," Kim Nelson said. "It's a great thing to know about the past."

The Prairie View Trail Ride's trail boss withdrew her group from the activities.

"I thought about it long and hard," Nannie Francis said. "The (the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo) said we could make one infraction and we were gone."

The association was already on probation for several infractions along the ride.