Shenisha Espinoza, Megan Lopez and Carmelita Roybal always liked seeing the Radio City Rockettes and the giant cartoon balloons in the TV broadcast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But never did they think they'd actually be in the parade.

On Friday, the girls flew to New York to do just that.

After attending a Universal Cheer Association camp at The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, last summer, the Pojoaque Valley trio found that they were eligible to apply to participate in the parade because they were team captains. They were chosen in September.

"I think it's going to be really fun," Lopez, 16, said. Of the three, only Roybal, 17, has ever been to New York.

"I'm excited for the experience and the sightseeing," said Espinoza, 16, with a big smile. "And the shopping."

"I'm expecting a lot of lights and big buildings," Lopez added.

The girls will be in New York for six nights. According to the Universal Cheer Association Web site, the trip, which cost them approximately $1,500 each plus airfare, will include a tour of the Big Apple, tickets to a Broadway show, a dance class with New York choreographers and dancers, a ticket to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular featuring the famous, flawless Rockettes, and a uniform designed especially for the event, among other things.

Although the girls will be able to go skating at Rockefeller Center and hit some of New York's most delicious shopping destinations, they are going there to work as well.

"There's going to be a lot of rehearsals," Roybal explained. The girls will have to learn the piece of choreography they will perform in the parade with hundreds of other cheerleaders from around the country.

"I'm excited for them," said Pojoaque Valley High School cheer coach Gwen Romero. "It's going to be a good experience to cheer somewhere else beside your own school and to be able to go to New York, of all places — it's a great opportunity for them."

All three girls have been cheering since they were little girls. Roybal got into the sport when she was just a fourth-grader.

"My dad was a basketball coach, so I was used to being at the gym," Roybal explained. "I just enjoyed watching the cheerleaders more than the basketball games."

Espinoza started cheering when she was in seventh grade.

"Everyone on my mom's side of the family — all the girls — are cheerleaders," Espinoza said. "So I guess it was just destiny."

Lopez started cheering when she was in fifth grade. "It just seemed fun," she said.

The girls say many people have misconceptions about cheerleaders.

"A lot of people think cheerleaders are dumb, but I know our team is an exception," Roybal said. "The majority of us have really good grades and high GPAs. We're more school-focused."

The girls cheer year-round. If they're not on the sidelines at a game during the school year, they're in the gym practicing in the summer.

"Everyone thinks that cheerleaders are there just to cheer and that we don't work out," Espinoza said. "But we do a lot of hard work. Cheerleading is a really dangerous sport, if you think about it. We've gotten hurt so many times."

"You definitely go home hurting," Roybal chimed in.

What the girls enjoy most about the sport is being right "in the action," Roybal said.

"I love being able to cheer (the teams) on even if they're doing bad," Espinoza said. "We're always here to support them."

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be broadcast live on NBC at 9 a.m. Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.