Like a pair of princesses, sisters Kaela, 6, and Chloe, 3, rode in a carriage behind a prancing horse Sunday through the Old Mill District.

The ride was the first time in a carriage for both the Graziano girls, said their dad, 33-year-old Santo Graziano. Come to think of it, he and his wife, Kate Graziano, 39, hadn’t been in a carriage before either. Visiting Central Oregon from Beaverton, the family saw the carriage rides last year and decided to give them a try this year.

Santo Graziano said the carriage offered a comfortable ride, even on a chilly afternoon.

“The blankets were great,” he said.

Asked after the ride what they liked most, Kaela and Chloe said the horse.

Supported by the Old Mill District and Brasada Ranch, the carriage rides are free with any donations offered by riders going to KIDS Center, a Bend child abuse intervention center serving Central Oregon.

Last year, the rides raised about $1,600 for the center, said Ryan Moeggenberg, owner of Bend-based Cowboy Carriage and the man behind the reins Sunday. People love the rides this time of year.

“It’s a tradition,” he said. “It is like jingle bells.”

Fittingly, Moeggenberg on Sunday had adorned his horse, Kurt — a 9-year-old Percheron, a breed of draft horse originating in France — with jingling bells. He said his passengers often sing “Jingle Bells” as he takes them from one end of the Old Mill and back.

Among the annual holiday attractions at the Old Mill, the carriage rides started about nine years ago, said Noelle Fredland, marketing director for the Old Mill District.

“There is something magical about being able to come down here and ride on a carriage and see all the lights,” she said.

Cowboy Carriage is in its second year providing the carriage rides at the Old Mill. The company also does carriage rides in downtown Bend during the summer, as well as special events, such as weddings and brewery tours. In hopes of starting another tradition, Moeggenberg said he plans to offer Christmas caroling rides in downtown Bend.

After going for a carriage ride Sunday, Lily Belle Olson, 8, stayed in the seat and posed for a photo with her mom, Spring Olson, 39, of Bend. The elder Olson said her daughter had the same response as Kaela and Chloe when asked what was her favorite part.

“The horse,” Lily Belle said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7812, ddarling@bendbulletin.com