Saddle Up for St. Jude's
|
|
September 16, 2020
Sheila Harris
If you like camping and horseback riding, this event has your name on it.
The 44th annual Ride for Life, an annual benefit horseback trail ride - now a “Saddle Up for St. Jude’s” event - begins Friday, September 18, and continues through Sunday, September 20. Although the event is promoted as a benefit for charity, for the 100-plus riders who turn-out annually with their horses for the three-day event, it’s mostly about relaxation and fun.
“People come from all over the four-state area,” Chris House, of House Handle Company of Exeter, one of the event’s organizers, said. “For some, it’s an annual family outing, something they look forward to every year.”
The trail ride and related activities will begin and end on the A. T. Smith Ranch, alongside Flat Creek just south of McDowell, near what some know as Bright’s Spring (also, Brite’s Spring) on the Old Wire Road, now called Farm Road 1142. Whatever you call it, the site of the camp and trail ride is nestled in a historic area in a beautiful Ozark valley.
“People can set up camp and stay overnight, or just show up for a meal or the trail ride,” Dusty Long, of Cassville, another event organizer said. “There’s a $10 donation per person (16 years or older) for camping; the registration fee for the trail ride is $20 per person. All the money goes to a good cause.”
According to Long, gates on the Smith Ranch will open at noon on Friday, September 18, so participants can begin setting up camp.
“Friday night,” Long said, “meals will be available for purchase, and we’ll have a bake auction starting at 6 p.m. Afterward, Shock Wave Karaoke will be donating their services for the evening.
“Saturday morning, September 19, we hope to begin our 15-mile trail ride by 8 a.m.,” Long continued, “although it’s sometimes closer to 9 a.m. After potty breaks and a lunch break, we’ll finish up at the same place where we began – probably at about 4 p.m.”
Dusty Long participated in his first Ride for Life in 1991 when he was just six years old. He hasn’t missed one since. Then, he was six years old and rode alongside his father, Chuck Long, and his mother, Kaye (who passed away in 2011). Nowadays, as part of the planning committee, Dusty Long plays a part in keeping the tradition alive.
“It makes me sad to see the authentic ‘cowboy industry’ falling by the wayside and people moving away from a western lifestyle,” he said. “But I know firsthand that keeping horses requires both time and money. When you consider that a good horse and a new four-wheeler might be comparable in price and serve the same purpose on a farm, you get a better understanding of the reason not as many people are riding horses. You’ve really got to love them.”
Long, the live haul manager for the George’s plants in Springdale and Cassville, admits that his horses are nothing fancy.
“We have two old trail horses,” he said, “but we enjoy riding them. My wife, Katherine, inherited her horse, Zandy, from her uncle. We call him, ‘the old man’ and ‘the baby-sitter,’ because we can put our six-year-old on him and feel good about it.”
Long’s uncle, John Schnake, was one of the original participants in the Ride for Life event, which began in 1976. Now 84 years old, he says he hasn’t missed a ride yet. Neither has his contemporary, Kenneth Gideon, of Anderson.
“The Ride for Life was originally organized by some men from Joplin to raise money for a friend from Oronogo who needed a kidney transplant,” he said. “The ride used to benefit the Kidney Foundation, but now we ride to raise money for St. Jude’s. We discovered more of the money we raise goes to the people we are trying to help when we give it to St. Jude’s.”
According to Schnake, in years past, the Springfield Ride for Life club and the Joplin club - which each had about 600 horses and riders - would ride to Mt. Vernon and meet up for one huge gathering at the end of their fundraising event.
“We always planned a starting point and our route, as well as an overnight camping spot, way in advance of the ride,” he said.
“Nowadays,” he continued, “each group just does its own thing. Instead of riding from Point A to Point B, we just ride in a big loop from a central location and end up where we started from.”
At the event, prizes will be awarded for different levels of solicited donations.
“With a $50 donation, you’ll receive a hat or T-shirt,” Chris House, event organizer, said. “With $500, you’ll receive a jacket; and with $1,200, a saddle or a $500 gift card from Race Brothers.
“There’ll be opportunities to win a Henry 44 Magnum, a saddle and a sorrel quarter horse colt and other items, too,” he said.
“Saturday night, there will be a benefit auction featuring items donated by local businesses,” Long added. “We have a lot of good items,” Long said, “including equestrian needs and western décor.”
After the auction, the band “Out for a Ride” will perform until midnight.
Sunday morning, cowboy church will begin at 9 a.m., followed by a shorter trail ride, then an awards ceremony.
A caterer will be available throughout the three-day event to sell meals – including breakfast, lunch and dinner - to hungry equestrians. Sunday’s lunch must be pre-ordered, if you’d like a noon meal before the conclusion of the event Sunday afternoon.
For more information about the Ride for Life, visit the group’s Facebook page at “Ride for Life,” or contact Chris House at 417-847-7761, or Dusty Long at 417-342-1595.
You can find the A.T. Smith Ranch by going east on C Highway from Purdy to FR 1142. Turn right, drive to the T in the road, then go left to the creek. From Cassville, take U Highway to its end, from Butterfield, then go north on FR 1142 several miles to the westward bend in the road.
Sheila Harris
If you like camping and horseback riding, this event has your name on it.
The 44th annual Ride for Life, an annual benefit horseback trail ride - now a “Saddle Up for St. Jude’s” event - begins Friday, September 18, and continues through Sunday, September 20. Although the event is promoted as a benefit for charity, for the 100-plus riders who turn-out annually with their horses for the three-day event, it’s mostly about relaxation and fun.
“People come from all over the four-state area,” Chris House, of House Handle Company of Exeter, one of the event’s organizers, said. “For some, it’s an annual family outing, something they look forward to every year.”
The trail ride and related activities will begin and end on the A. T. Smith Ranch, alongside Flat Creek just south of McDowell, near what some know as Bright’s Spring (also, Brite’s Spring) on the Old Wire Road, now called Farm Road 1142. Whatever you call it, the site of the camp and trail ride is nestled in a historic area in a beautiful Ozark valley.
“People can set up camp and stay overnight, or just show up for a meal or the trail ride,” Dusty Long, of Cassville, another event organizer said. “There’s a $10 donation per person (16 years or older) for camping; the registration fee for the trail ride is $20 per person. All the money goes to a good cause.”
According to Long, gates on the Smith Ranch will open at noon on Friday, September 18, so participants can begin setting up camp.
“Friday night,” Long said, “meals will be available for purchase, and we’ll have a bake auction starting at 6 p.m. Afterward, Shock Wave Karaoke will be donating their services for the evening.
“Saturday morning, September 19, we hope to begin our 15-mile trail ride by 8 a.m.,” Long continued, “although it’s sometimes closer to 9 a.m. After potty breaks and a lunch break, we’ll finish up at the same place where we began – probably at about 4 p.m.”
Dusty Long participated in his first Ride for Life in 1991 when he was just six years old. He hasn’t missed one since. Then, he was six years old and rode alongside his father, Chuck Long, and his mother, Kaye (who passed away in 2011). Nowadays, as part of the planning committee, Dusty Long plays a part in keeping the tradition alive.
“It makes me sad to see the authentic ‘cowboy industry’ falling by the wayside and people moving away from a western lifestyle,” he said. “But I know firsthand that keeping horses requires both time and money. When you consider that a good horse and a new four-wheeler might be comparable in price and serve the same purpose on a farm, you get a better understanding of the reason not as many people are riding horses. You’ve really got to love them.”
Long, the live haul manager for the George’s plants in Springdale and Cassville, admits that his horses are nothing fancy.
“We have two old trail horses,” he said, “but we enjoy riding them. My wife, Katherine, inherited her horse, Zandy, from her uncle. We call him, ‘the old man’ and ‘the baby-sitter,’ because we can put our six-year-old on him and feel good about it.”
Long’s uncle, John Schnake, was one of the original participants in the Ride for Life event, which began in 1976. Now 84 years old, he says he hasn’t missed a ride yet. Neither has his contemporary, Kenneth Gideon, of Anderson.
“The Ride for Life was originally organized by some men from Joplin to raise money for a friend from Oronogo who needed a kidney transplant,” he said. “The ride used to benefit the Kidney Foundation, but now we ride to raise money for St. Jude’s. We discovered more of the money we raise goes to the people we are trying to help when we give it to St. Jude’s.”
According to Schnake, in years past, the Springfield Ride for Life club and the Joplin club - which each had about 600 horses and riders - would ride to Mt. Vernon and meet up for one huge gathering at the end of their fundraising event.
“We always planned a starting point and our route, as well as an overnight camping spot, way in advance of the ride,” he said.
“Nowadays,” he continued, “each group just does its own thing. Instead of riding from Point A to Point B, we just ride in a big loop from a central location and end up where we started from.”
At the event, prizes will be awarded for different levels of solicited donations.
“With a $50 donation, you’ll receive a hat or T-shirt,” Chris House, event organizer, said. “With $500, you’ll receive a jacket; and with $1,200, a saddle or a $500 gift card from Race Brothers.
“There’ll be opportunities to win a Henry 44 Magnum, a saddle and a sorrel quarter horse colt and other items, too,” he said.
“Saturday night, there will be a benefit auction featuring items donated by local businesses,” Long added. “We have a lot of good items,” Long said, “including equestrian needs and western décor.”
After the auction, the band “Out for a Ride” will perform until midnight.
Sunday morning, cowboy church will begin at 9 a.m., followed by a shorter trail ride, then an awards ceremony.
A caterer will be available throughout the three-day event to sell meals – including breakfast, lunch and dinner - to hungry equestrians. Sunday’s lunch must be pre-ordered, if you’d like a noon meal before the conclusion of the event Sunday afternoon.
For more information about the Ride for Life, visit the group’s Facebook page at “Ride for Life,” or contact Chris House at 417-847-7761, or Dusty Long at 417-342-1595.
You can find the A.T. Smith Ranch by going east on C Highway from Purdy to FR 1142. Turn right, drive to the T in the road, then go left to the creek. From Cassville, take U Highway to its end, from Butterfield, then go north on FR 1142 several miles to the westward bend in the road.
