On the trail

The Wild Horse Plains Back Country Horsemen raised $1,200 on its annual poker ride at the historic Jones Ranch Saturday, but everything the club takes in goes to help take care of the trails in Sanders County.

Doc Milham of Trout Creek was the big winner of the day with a royal flush, said Terry Collins, the club treasurer. With the top hand, Milham got to pick from 10 prizes that were donated to the event.

Ninety-nine riders took part in the 9.2-mile poker ride, which had five stations positioned throughout the ranch, situated on the Little Thompson River Road about 10 miles northwest of Plains. Riders drew cards from each station, except the cards were ping pong balls with card markings. This was the second year that the club used the balls instead of cards, which tended to stick together, said club member Laurie Crawford, who was at station three with her husband, David. Riders could pull a ball from a bucket or have the station volunteer pull it.

The ride included five poker stations. The first riders set out at 8 a.m. and the last one returned shortly before 4 p.m. The first and last stations were at the check-in point. It was about one and a half miles from the first station to the second and the same between two and three, said John Errecart, one of the event coordinators and a member of the Wild Horse Plains Back Country Horsemen since it began in 2006. He said it's about four miles from station three to four and about two miles back to the ranch, where station five involved using a BB or pellet gun to shoot at cards formed in a circle with the joker as a wild card in the middle 25 feet away.

Station five was run by club members Ed Puett of Superior and Jean Nemeth of Camas Prairie. Players could shoot a card or just pull a card from the bucket, but Nemeth said about 75% of them shoot at a card. She's also been told by riders that it's the favorite station. Station four was also more than just getting a card, where riders had a choice of tossing a ping pong ball into one of 52 cups marked with a card or take one from a bucket. They could toss as many times as they wanted, said Dianne Mathis of Trout Creek, who worked the station with Cindy Moore of Plains. Mathis said that about 75% of the riders tried their hand at tossing a ball in the cups.

The club has been hosting a poker ride since 2010 and held it at the Jones Ranch every year but the first two, which were done at the Sanders County Fairgrounds. Kelsie Blevins, the club president for the third year, said the riders like doing the event at the Jones Ranch, owned by Jim and Barb Shallenberger, because of the scenery. "It's a great spot with mountain areas and people like the terrain and it gets them away from the city," said Blevins, a Plains resident. Riders that participate in several poker rides a year noted the great job the club does on this event. "This is the high part of the year for us," said Millissa Culver of Plains, who did the ride with her husband, Vernon.

The cost of the event was $25, which included a meal and one hand, but people could buy additional hands for $5 a hand. A woman from Great Falls purchased 20 hands, said club member Lisa Read. There were numerous people from throughout Sanders County, but also many from nearby Lake and Flathead Counties, as well as riders from Idaho, Washington and one from Oregon.

The poker ride is a fundraiser for the Wild Horse Plains Back Country Horsemen, a nonprofit organization that helps maintain trails on federal and state lands in Sanders County. Each spring, they clear the trail to the Big Hole Lookout, part of the U.S. Forest Service's recreational cabin rental program. The club "adopted" the former lookout and opens it up for the season each June and closes it down in October. The money raised helps reimburse the volunteers for mileage and maintenance for chainsaws and other tools they use to maintain trails. The club also purchased gear for the rental cabin. The poker ride is also a way to recruit members into the club, which has about 40. Collins said two people picked up applications.

The club raised $600 on its silent auction and $275 on a 50/50 drawing. The silent auction included 31 items from a ceramic pig pitcher to a saddle donated by Dave and Laurie Crawford. The BBQ lunch was cooked by Lisa and Dave Remsburg of Plains.