This photograph of 7-year-old Sherene Teist atop Nimble was taken during the 1986 Christmas pageant, South Australia's sesquicentenary year.   The streets are lined with South Australian Jubilee 150 flags and the pageant that year had a sesquicentenary flavour including four specially themed floats - Proclamation tree and guard, HMS Buffalo, Bound for South Australia and Cobb and Co.

One of the unique aspects of the Adelaide Christmas pageant has always been its use of company employees, rather than professional performers, to bring its characters to life. The 1986 pageant was the first one to feature participants from outside the John Martin's organisation when employees of newly appointed sponsor, the State Bank, were invited to take part as well.

In the past, the much-coveted honour of riding the dapple-grey Nimble and chestnut Nipper was bestowed upon selected children of the employees of John Martin's. (Sherene's father, Alan Teist, was Marketing manager at John Martin's at the time.) The opportunity is now given to those whose parents work at the sponsoring credit unions.

Rocking horse Nimble first arrived in the 'Magic Cave' in 1909. Chosen to feature in the first Christmas pageant in 1933, Nimble has appeared, with stable-mate Nipper, every year since.

John Martin & Co.

Adelaide's once-a-year day, Adelaide: Commercial Printing House, 1978.

'Street pageant delights crowd', Advertiser, 20 November 1933, p. 16.

A touch of magic [videorecording] : [the story behind the Christmas Pageant], West Lakes?, S. Aust. : Cine News Productions, 1993.

John Martin's first pageant: 1933 [State Library of South Australia]