The Grand Oaks Resort and Carriage Museum in Weirsdale, Florida was a beautiful and hospitable location for our very first ACTHA (American Competitive Trail Horse Association) Trail Ride on April 26 & 27, 2014. MTRA’s Barn Manager, Gail Dufresne, took this bull by the horns and did an outstanding job of organizing and coordinating this event, from securing sponsors to creating forms and distributing flyers and encouraging riders to sign up.
Riders prepare to depart for their 6 mile, 6 obstacle ride on Saturday with the beautiful new Grand Oaks Arena in the background.
Leading our parade of supportive sponsors was of course the Grand Oaks facility itself, who provided an outstanding venue, golf carts and mules, stalls and RV hookups and parking, and a beautiful pavilion to gather and organize our crew and competitors. We also received sponsorship donations and/or wonderful prizes from the following generous companies:
Gail Dufresne, Event Coordinator & MTRA’s Barn Manager
- Coast to Coast Jewelers of The Villages
- Equi-Cool Down Blankets & Wraps
- Tack Shack of Ocala
- Ocala Breeders Feed & Supply (Hwy 27)
- Farm Credit Services
- Pro-Therapy SLP Services
- Rosemary & Robert Ecolds
- Diane Dufresne
- Diane Perrin
- Sparr Builders
- Fontana Real Estate: Karen Cunningham
- Fontana Real Estate: April Fontana
- Ruff’s Saddle Shop
- Sneak-e-Snacks
- Horse N Tack
- Entercom Radio 98.5 KTK The Sky 97.3 FM
- Affiliated Title of Marion County & USA Home Inspections
- Kangaroo Gas, Ocala
- North Florida Lubes, Xpress Lube
- Race Trac
- Stayons Poultice Wraps & Boots
- Wells Fargo Bank
- Brick City Title
MTRA rider Blake is interviewed by Shanna Bellingham and Tina Hostetler for HorseTalk NBC Sports Radio on Saturday Morning
On Saturday morning, we were the on-site location of Ocala’s own Horse Talk Radio with Shanna Bellingham of Tack Shack of Ocala, and Tina Halsteter of Sneak-e-Snacks, who graciously interviewed MTRA rider Blake and his mom, as well as Board Member/Volunteer Ralph Flood. We were thrilled to have this kind of exposure and it was especially wonderful to be interviewed by two of MTRA’s greatest local supporters!
A highlight of the weekend included a demonstration by one of Ocala’s most well known horsemen, the equivalent of a rock star to rodeo fanatics, Dan Dailey, an 18x World Champion All Around Cowboy and inductee to the Cowboy Hall of Fame. Dan introduced riders and spectators to his recent work with the beautiful Gypsy Vanners of WR Ranch, home of Grand Champion Kuchi. Dan was generous with his time and answered questions and it was a treat to meet him and watch his training techniques.
We could not have executed this great event without the help of many amazing volunteers who worked tirelessly before, during and after the ride to insure its success. Putting in hours of time and thousands of smiles were–
- Kathy Herndon
- Judy, Bill & Blake Meyers
- Ron Hebert and Lou Courtelis
- Chay Hebert
- Kim Carter
- Jessica Brown
- Lori Croy
- Karen & Scott Konrath
- Jan & Jay Morse
- Patti Holmberg
- Elli Wright
- Cindy (photographer)
- Tina & Eric Hostetler
- Nancy Moore
- Karen Holmberg
- Jan Hathaway
- Ralph Flood
- Tami Johnson
- Garnet Robinson
- Karen Cunningham
- Fred Cluskey
- Sally Ann Lyle
- Natlie Revels, ACTHA Mentor
- And the wonderful Grand Oaks team: Tom Warner, Susan Kelly, Kacy Tipton-Fashik and Dan Dailey
Dan Dailey ropes from the back of a Gypsy Vanner mare owned by WR Ranch.
Below is a gallery of some of our competitors and the event itself. If you competed in the ride and would like to view and order photos from our Saturday photographer, please visit her website at Tami Johnson Photography. All proceeds from the sale of these images will be donated back to MTRA, so please order your prints or digital images!
For complete trail ride results, click HERE.