by Louise Abbott

On Sept. 28, we had a total of 44 riders for our very first Annual Charity Poker Ride in Rock Creek, BC. We had a great range of riders of all ages and riding disciplines. We wanted to promote this ride as family orientated for everyone who just loves to ride, and I think we succeeded with that. We also wanted to raise awareness of the two societies, CASEY and Kettle River Trails. We had a choice of a 5-mile and 13-mile loop for the riders. A group of six ladies who came consisted of four sisters, one cousin and a friend - one of the sisters came from Prince George! Riders came from a variety of areas some being Nelson, Kamloops, Kelowna, Rock Creek, Grand Forks, and as far as Prince George. Riders rode horses who were from four years up to Darryl Wensel's mare who was 27 years old and did the 13-mile loop. All of the horses looked great once they returned from the trail ride; the riders did a great job taking care of their horses.

We were fortunate enough to have some top-notch volunteers who helped in a variety of duties. They are Vern and Anne Rexin, Karen Reagan, Ross Elliott, Howard Rakin, Del and Lynn Paul, Chris Abbott, Elaine Freeman and Bonnie Stevens. I was the organizer of the event and loved every minute of it!

The First Annual Charity Poker Ride raised approximately $1,200 and proceeds went to CASEY Society and Kettle River Trails Association, for more info on CASEY Society visit the website www.CASEYonline.org and Kettle River Trails Association's temporary website http://www.freewebs. com/kettlerivertrailsassociation/.

We had several sponsors who helped with the prizes; a BIG THANK YOU to them for their support, and to the riders for coming out and enjoying the beautiful Kettle River trails in Rock Creek. We look forward to seeing more riders at our Second Annual Charity Poker Ride-A-Thon in September, 2009, where they can enjoy the trails, visit with horse folk and raise funds for the CASEY Society and Kettle River Trails Association.


To the Organizers of the Rock Creek Ride:
On behalf of the group of six women who attended; four sisters, one cousin and a friend, I want to say thank you for a day of great riding, sunny warm skies and well-marked and maintained trails.
Everyone was very helpful and friendly. Thank you also to all the volun­teers who gave their time and effort to help make this event great. We sureappreciate all the work done getting prizes from the businesses and individuals who so generously donated those items. Huge thanks for their efforts.
The start of the ride was at the Rock Creek fairgrounds. There's lots of parking for campers and trail­ers. Campers have access to washrooms and showers on site. Stables for the horse are right there too. We stabled our horse and the stalls were safe, big and clean.After the ride a tasty lunch was provided. It was included in the entry fee along with camping on site. All proceeds from the ride went to help Kettle River Trails Association for trail development and CASEY [Community Against Sexual Exploitation of Youth].

We read about this event in the Saddle Up magazine.


We had an awesome time and are planning to come back next year. Hats off to everyone who put this ride together. For all those who missed it, make sure you put it on your calendar for next year.
There was a huge selection of donated items to be won. Poker hand prizes were to fifth place and many name draws afterwards. - Heather Luckow, Enderby, BC