Mason High School's marching band is riding 44 bicycles fitted with prop horse heads and flame tails in its competition show, "Fire Horse."

The Chinese New Year-themed performance debuted at the band's first competition of the 2026 season. The band claims to be the first high school in the country to incorporate bikes on this scale, as first reported by the MHS Chronicle. Both color guard performers and musicians ride the modified bikes during the roughly 10-minute show on Dwire Field.

Marching Band Director Jason Sleppy said he stumbled across the concept of a fire horse and decided moving bikes would bring the idea to life better than any stationary prop. The novelty has meant solving problems from scratch.

"Lots of unique problems arise when you try to do something nobody's ever done, because you have to come up with the solutions for everything that goes wrong," Sleppy said. "Nobody's ever done it. You can't copy paste anything."

Musicians stow their instruments in archery bags worn on their backs while riding. The woodwind section, cast as "hunters" in the show's storyline, weaves through the full band on bikes, circling the battery.

Two seniors lead the logistics. Woodwind section leaders Sreshta Cherukumoolinti and Lucia Munoz serve as bike captains, arriving early to set up the fleet and troubleshoot mechanical issues. Cherukumoolinti said she initially thought the bikes would feel gimmicky but changed her mind once rehearsals began and audiences reacted.

Munoz, who has a background in dance, was selected to perform a visual solo on her bike. She improvises her own choreography while separated from the rest of the band on the field.

Not everyone arrived ready to ride. Junior color guard member Emilee Gorder, now in her third year with the guard, said she had to teach herself to ride a bike before the season started. Color guard members practiced riding in straight lines, staying in time and pedaling on specific counts.

The preparation paid off early. At the Mid-States Band Association (MSBA) Lakota West Competition on Sunday, Sept. 20, the band was named Grand Champion, took first place in Class AAAAA and swept all caption awards in its class, according to the Mason Band Boosters.

Mason residents can see the show at halftime of the Homecoming football game against Hamilton on Friday, Sept. 25. The band's next competition is the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) Buckeye Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Mason hosts its own invitational on Saturday, Oct. 10, and the MSBA AAAAA Championships come to Mason on Saturday, Nov. 7.