CARNDUFF - Over 80 horse trailers were parked side by side, filling the grounds in Carnduff for the Dash for Cash on July 22 and 23.
A total of 338 contestants did their turn and burn around the barrels to get a piece of the $34,000-plus in prizes.
Torie Boyes and Brittany Martin organized the event, which attracted the largest crowd of riders in the 13 years it has been held.
Sandra Spencer ran the event for the first 10 years and then Boyes and Martin took over.
There were three categories. The open division, youth for ages 8 to 18, and peewee for ages eight and under.
This jackpot is well known across the western provinces, bringing riders from B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Throughout the event, two food trucks – Get in My Belly and Butters – fed the crowd, and an ice cream truck, Souris Valley Flats, was also present.
Martin feels the event gets better and runs smoother every year.
Both women were impressed with those that attended. The grounds were kept clean and there was such great sportsmanship.
They have learned to delegate as they realize an event of this magnitude cannot be run by two people, and they are extremely grateful for all the volunteers who helped.
It was a hot weekend and the volunteers made sure to have lots of refreshments on hand for the riders and horses.
Volunteers are needed to run the gates, letting riders in and out, as well as picking up a tipped barrel and raking in holes.
The many sponsors provided excellent prizes for the categories.
“This event cannot happen without their support, which they are truly thankful for,” said Boyes
The barrel racing continued each day until 4 p.m., with the fastest time going to Cranny Roberta, from Lacomb, Alta., with a 16.535-second run.
In the youth division, the quickest time went to Blake Hedin from St. Brieux. His time was 16.68 seconds.
In the evening, the team roping event took over the arena.
Euphoria Events took care of the beer gardens.
Spectators came and went all day to watch the competitors, cheering them on at each barrel.
Lisa Huynh and her daughter Kyra participated along with Brooke Peterson.
Peterson has been taking lessons from the Huynh women for a year and a half and was riding Crime, who is an old barrel horse that was once owned by Kaytlyn McLeod, who came to watch her old horse and new partner race.
This was Peterson’s first big jackpot that she attended. According to Lisa Huynh, Peterson had so much fun and is hooked.
“It was super well-organized, and the grounds were beautiful,” said Huynh.
Huynh felt it was run smoothly and the organizers worked hard to keep things going with so many competitors.
“Everyone cheered and encouraged the riders,” said Huynh. “It was an excellent event with fabulous food.”
Over 5,000 photos were taken by Rick Hiebert of Action Plus Photography.
Boyes and Martin are already planning for next season and hope to have unique events for when they have their fifth year as organizers of the event.
