From the San Francisco Chronicle
When pitching ace Madison Bumgarner arrived at Steuart Street for the start of the World Series parade, the cops assigned to the parade were waiting, and just as pumped as the thousands of other Giant fans who were lining the route.
As high fives and knuckle knocks were exchanged, the cops gave Bumgarner the usual lines: “Great series,” “One in a million” — and, of course, the obligatory, “If there is anything we can do for you, just let us know.”
At which point, Bumgarner looked over at the line of police horses and said, “Anything? How ’bout you letting me ride one of them horses in the parade?”
The first call was fine — after all, Bumgarner is an experienced horse rider.
Maybe, but this was in the rain, with a huge crowd and confetti cannons ready to go off.
After careful consideration, and thinking about what would happen if he fell off, “we made a compromise,” said Police Chief Greg Suhr, who was called in to make the call.
“How about a picture on the horse, and we keep that golden shoulder?” Suhr said.