1st Annual Albany Trail Ride - Helping Kids with Cancer

September 15, 2007

New! Click here to see the newspaper article written in the St. Ignace news!

WOW! What a GREAT time!! Not only did we get blessed with a beautiful sunny day but the ride raised almost $7,000 for Camp Quality in Boyne City, Michigan! (Camp for Kids with Cancer).

Although there were approx. 35+ riders pre-registered for the event, 29 actually participated. Riders came from the local Eastern Upper Peninsula area to as far as Blanchard Michigan, Posen and counties in between! Many local businesses and private parties also made generous donations to the cause. It was incredible to see such support and everyone having such a great time!

The ride began promptly at 10:00 a.m. after everyone received their Tshirts and tacked up their horses. It took a few miles for everyone to find their spacing on the trail and where their horses were happiest in the trail string. ;-) But the horses were very well mannered, and great sports. We rode 2 hours to the lunch site. We were greeted by a crew of smiling faces and we all migrated to the smell of fried potatoes, brown beans and hot dogs. They built 2 camp fires to help take off that fall chill.. Freshly baked cookies and donuts topped off the meal before heading back on the 2 hour track home. All the horses stood calmly on their picket lines, happy to be resting. What a great time with friends and opportunities to make new ones.

Tracy was our designated photographer for the day, so I posted her pics below along with a few I took while on the trail.

If you missed out on this ride, be sure to mark your calender for next year! Or call Karen to be added to her mailing list!! (906) 297-8321.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE for your support and most of all to the Bennett Family for making the day SO grand and for all your work in holding such a worthwhile event!!!!

	HEADING OUT!

THANKS AGAIN KAREN!!!!

Karen Bennett, owner of Albany Family Restaurant - DeTour Michigan

Host of the 1st Annual Albany Trail Ride - Helping Kids with Cancer

(906)297-8321

Riders Raise Nearly $7,000 for Children's Camp in First Albany Trail Ride
By Amy Polk

Approximately $7,000 was raised for Camp Quality children's camp by participants in the first Albany Trail Ride between Cedarville and DeTour. All of the money raised has been donated to the Boyne City camp, which is dedicated to improving the lives of children ages four to 18 who have or are recovering from cancer.

Twenty-nine horseback riders participated in the Saturday, September 15 ride, exceeding the expectations of organizer Karen Bennett of DeTour. She was assisted by her twin sister, Sharon Sherlund of Cedarville, and Denise Conroy of Cedarville, an avid horseback rider who publicized the event through her Curly Horse breed Web site. The event attracted widespread support, with participants coming from as far as Blanchard, Mrs. Conroy said.

When she started planning the ride, she had no idea how many people would come. She just wanted to fulfill a dream she had of helping people with cancer. Inspired by the Tough Enough to Wear Pink horseback riding and rodeo events to raise money for breast cancer prevention, Mrs. Bennett decided she wanted to establish a local cancer fundraising event for horseback riders like herself.

"After she slept on it, and thought about it, and had dreams about doing something for people with cancer, she decided to do this," Mrs. Sherlund said. "She especially wanted to do something with horses. They have golf outings, and walk-a-thons, and bike-athons as fundraisers, but no one really does anything on horseback."

That sentiment was translated to a slogan that appeared on the bright orange T-shirts participants wore on the ride: "You Can Do it on Horseback - Helping Kids with Cancer."

Mrs. Bennett and Mrs. Sherlund grew up riding horses, and have mutual friends, Nelda Vaught and Jean Sommers, who work as volunteers at Camp Quality, a camp with a mission to let "kids with cancer be kids again." Mrs. Vaught and Mrs. Sommers have told stories of their experiences in working with the children that inspired Mrs. Bennett to dedicate the fundraiser to those children, and Camp Quality.

In the days before the event, Mrs. Bennett was overwhelmed by the support from friends, family members, businesses, and strangers. Gordon Food Service donated all of the food for Saturday's chuck wagon supper. Coca Cola Company donated all of the beverages. More than $3,000 in registrations, pledges, and donations poured in before September 15, and donations will still coming Monday, September 17.

The riders themselves enjoyed a cool morning and early afternoon that made them grateful for the hot meal and two campfires awaiting them at the DeTour State Campground halfway through the trip. The ride was 10 miles each way, and was a route Mrs. Bennett planned and rode herself.

Mrs. Bennett said she wanted the ride to be difficult enough that participants felt part of something really worthwhile that took effort to attain. The route took riders over gravel trail, wooden bridges, through water, and thick forest.

"We wanted to make it challenging enough that it will make an impression on them, and they will come back next year," she said.

When friends told her they didn't think they could finish a ride that long and difficult, Mrs. Sherlund said, she told them to think about the children who spend time at Camp Quality.

"I asked them how they can look me in the eye and say that, when our pain will go away, but you have kids ages four to 18 suffering from cancer, and their pain won't go away," Mrs. Sherlund said.

The price to participate was also set high enough to make an impression, they said, at $50. Some participants chose to collect donations to raise the $50 fee.

All of the money raised Saturday will go directly to the Boyne City Camp Quality, one of 15 such camps in the nation. Campers and their families stay free at the camp, where the children participate in fun activities designed to relax families and give them a break from doctor visits, hospitals, and treatments. Children there can meet new friends, obtain counseling and support, and have medical supervision during their stay.

The Boyne City camp is the only one in northern Michigan, and is one of two Camp Quality locations in Michigan.