Amboy Saddle Weekend features a slew of events such as Speed Poles, International Flags and Stilly Figure 8.
Amboy Saddle Weekend is back for its 11th annual year this Labor Day Weekend, giving out saddles and raising money for the Amboy Territorial Park. Starting with a Jackpot 4D Barrel Race on Friday, Aug. 30, riders and spectators can expect a weekend of jumping, racing and more.
“We give out five saddles in the open and six total,” Saddle Weekend Coordinator Lacy Jo Keller said, mentioning that her favorite part of the weekend is seeing the surprise on people’s faces when they win a saddle.
The Jackpot 4D Barrel Race starts at 7 p.m. that Friday, with entries costing $25 and beginning at 6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday both start with a breakfast to support the Hockinson High School Equestrian Team from 7 – 10 a.m. Tickets are $5 for a pancake breakfast and $8 for a full breakfast.
On Saturday night, the Battle Ground High School Equestrian Team is providing a pulled pork dinner for $5 per person – riders get one meal ticket.
Keller said the exact order of Saturday and Sunday events are fully planned yet, but the longer ones, such as speed poles, are usually reserved for Saturday with the shorter ones taking place on Sunday.
According to Keller, Saddle Weekend is unlike other equestrian events because the winners are mostly surprises due to the way they choose to hand out the saddles to every 15th person instead of the top six.
“The top person can have a good idea (that they will get a saddle) but after that, the other four, nobody’s got a clue,” she said.
As for the sixth saddle, Keller said that the event organizers save it for the kids’ run so they have something to win over the weekend.
Along with the saddle prizes, Saddle Weekend will be hosting a raffle and silent auction to benefit the “U.S. Veterans Corps. PNW,” a local non-profit started by Keller. Proceeds from the Friday night Jackpot 4D Barrel Race will also be supporting this non-profit.
