Local riders take on the Ranch Horse Relay Jackpot to win prizes

The Intermountain Appaloosa Horse Club hosted its “Ranch Horse Relay Jackpot” on Saturday at the Sandy Downs Arena. The event was full of obstacles for people to compete in and win prizes.

Every fall, the club would typically hold a trail ride. This year, to have a bit more fun, the club decided to switch things up.

“This is a cowboy relay, its not like anything we normally do,” said Barbra DeShon, the secretary for IApHC. “It’s kind of like a cross-country timed event with obstacles.”

The relay had people going head-to-head in a series of obstacles involving ranch chores.

First task was to rush over to the branding irons in a barrel, grab the designated color, brand the cow on the fence and put the iron back.

Riders and their horses then had to go over to their box and do a 360 in each direction.

Once they finished turning, riders grabbed a rope and had to lasso the steer head.

Finally, to show how agile the horse is, participants were told to circle the barrel at the end of the course and run the 10 buckets back to the starting line.

“They were super fun,” said Taloonie Staples, a participant. “We’re not very good at the roping part, but we had a fighting chance at all the rest.”

DeShon said the event is timed to determine the winners. Top three times win cash prizes.

There is an adult event and a youth event.

Riders were able to enter as many times as they want on different mounts.

“For me, I ride and train horses everyday,” said Kyzer Stoddard, another participant in the relays. “It’s nice to be able to get away from home. To go and do something to just kind challenge our horses.”

Saturdays events were followed by a potluck, games, a silent auction and a raffle.

The IApHC hopes to continue to do more fundraising events like this in the future.

“Just because we wanted to do something different and it might make us a little money for our club too. We all need money to run on,” said DeShon.

The Ranch Horse Jackpot Relay also had a “Hitch N Run” event, where people were put in teams of two and take on more obstacles with their horses.