WHC Trail Challenge 2012 Comes To A Close
Our rides are done for the year, and what a great year of riding we had! We rode in some beautiful places within our state, meeting old and new friends along the way, not to mention a certain pig by the name of Violet. There are some really good stories about her! Tracy Porter caught us all off guard with Violet.
District 5's ride in October, the Poker Crawl, was just that..a crawl, due to the weather. We were fortunate all summer long with Mother Nature cooperating and not raining on us. She made up for it on the October ride. It really rained hard! It was the first time I have seen horses saddled and ridden right out of the trailer. We would like to thank all of the brave riders who stayed and rode in the pouring rain along with all of the Judges and their helpers. Thank you so much, it wasn't easy doing this in the rain!
Due to the weather, we did not ride in Wildcat Mountain State Park; we stayed at Moon Ridge Campground and finished our year there. It was exciting to see who would come out on top for the Year End Awards. Competition was tough and close. But that is what makes it challenging and fun! It was a nail biter to the end!
The results for the October event are as follows:
Youth:
- 1st - Abi Schoenberger riding Mister
Causal:
- 1st - Leah Crave riding Flyer
- 2nd - Kris Blacklock riding Gamblers Jackpot
- 3rd - Dale Blacklock riding Takoda
- 4th - Cathy Schoenberger ring Stretch
Open:
- 1st - Diane Sackett riding Frost (tied)
- 2nd - Lee Sackett riding Louie (tied)
- 3rd - Don Smith riding June Carter
Maybe you noticed that we had a tie for first place in the Open Division. We held a tie-breaker, which resulted in Diane Sackett and Frost taking the win. With Diane winning the Open Division, that also put our Year End Award for the Open Division into a tie. You will have to ask Diane and Lee how they broke that tie!
The Year End Award winners are as follows:
Youth:
- 1st - Abi Schoenberger with Mister
Causal:
- 1st - Leah Crave with Flyer
- 2nd - Kris Blacklock with Gamblers Jackpot
- 3rd - Cathy Schoenberger with Stretch
Open:
- 1st - Diane Sackett with Frost and Lee Sackett with Louie (tied)
- 3rd - Don Smith with June Carter
After our ride, we all went to downtown Ontario for the WSHCEF fundraiser.
Mike McGowan made his famous cowboy stew and Clara Laufenberg made the desserts. We all ate well and it was delicious! After dinner, we danced until 11:00 with Tor Ennis and his band. Our silent and live Auctions went really well. We were hoping to have raised enough money to purchase Wildcat Mountain State Park a glide for large animal rescue at their park. We hope that they will never have to use the glide, but it is a comfort to know it is there in case they need it.
This program involved a lot of hard work, but we think everyone really enjoyed the rides, and that is what makes it all worthwhile. We would like to thank everyone who helped with this year's program. It was great of everyone to donate their time and help make these rides awesome! A HUGE thank you goes out to Dave Wells, Tracy Porter, TJ Clibborn, Patti Lehmann, and District 5 for holding events for all of us to ride in. Thank you also, to all of the riders for making this a very memorable year. We look forward to working and riding with everyone again in 2013!