16-year-old girl flies American flag on horseback honor 9/11

LAKE POINT, Tooele County — Twenty-five years after the skies fell silent on Sept. 11, 2001, the drumming of hoofbeats could be heard Friday in Lake Point as 16-year-old Cherade Allred galloped down the street, an American flag streaming behind her.

Cherade has ridden her horse every year on Sept. 11 since she was 10 years old, each time bearing an American flag.

"I wanted to pay tribute to the people that died that day — the firefighters, the medical responders, everyone in the buildings and on the planes," she said. "I've listened to almost every call about the planes crashing, and every time, I've bawled by eyes out."

Cherade's mother, Chaelea Allred, recalled being in school when the towers were struck. Her teachers turned on the TV to try and learn what was happening, and she watched the plane hit the second tower.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attack ultimately claimed the lives of 2,977 people. Chaelea said her aunt was feet away from the south tower when it was hit.

The Allred family has generations of military members in their family, and even though Chaelea was "terrified" of the situation, she said she knew that they would be OK.

Istvan Bartos, KSL

"It's very real to us," Chaelea said, "so it's amazing that she wants to pay tribute to those who ran into harm's way, knowing that there was a chance they wouldn't make it out."

Cherade rides more than a mile through Lake Point, at one point in front of a field filled with American flags. Chaelea said Cherade plans to do this "forever."

Several of the flags were stolen in 2025, prompting the group that put them up to increase security around the flags and move them further from the road.

Donations poured in last year to help them purchase more flags. Chaelea said she would "absolutely love" to get 2,977 flags — one for each person who lost their life that day — though she knows it may take a while to get that many.

"I think it's important to remember how it happened because otherwise, history repeats itself," Chaelea said.

On Saturday, Cherade will ride her horse with her American flag into a breakfast being hosted near Lake Point, on the southwest corner of Mountain View Road and Saddleback Boulevard, as a memorial to what happened 25 years ago.

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