The Crusaders have reluctantly scrapped the decades-old horse parade that formed part of the match-day experience at home games due to safety concerns at their new stadium.
Horses sporting the Super Rugby team's red-and-black colours circled the home stadiums of Rugby League Park and Lancaster Park prior to kick-off in a tradition dating back 30 years.
But the parade will no longer continue at Christchurch's Te Kaha stadium where the defending champions host their first match against the New South Wales Waratahs on April 24.
Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge said the team had tried its best to retain the horses, weighing up turf protection measures, new flooring through a tunnel and purchasing "specialised rugs" for the horses.
"This is a decision that really hurts because the horses have been part of who we are from the very beginning, and we know how much they mean to our fans," he said in a statement on Tuesday.
"That feeling of watching them run out in front of a packed crowd, while Conquest of Paradise plays, is a feeling I will never forget."
The horses were ridden by people wielding swords and dressed as knights until 2019 before changes were made in the wake of the March 15 mosque shootings in Christchurch.
Riders swapped swords for flags and the horses were draped in the colours of Canterbury's six provincial rugby unions.
Crusaders fans cheered the last parade before the Crusaders thrashed Fijian Drua 69-26 in their final home match at Rugby League Park.
Mark Donald, the riding group's spokesperson, said it was "incredibly disappointing" that the new stadium's infrastructure was not compatible with the horses.
"We have been through everything with this team. From the earthquakes, then the mosque attack and Covid," he said in a statement.
"The Crusaders mean everything to us; we aren’t just guys who ride horses around a field, we are an important part of this club, and this is what hurts the most."