There is still time to sign up for the second annual Wild Pink Yonder trail ride, but it is running out.
From Aug. 14 to Sept. 4, horse enthusiasts will travel 520 kilometres in wagons and on horseback from Waterton Lakes National Park to Strathcona County in an effort to raise funds for breast cancer research.
The troupe, which is encouraged to wear pink, will stop in small towns, including Irricana and Acme, across its route where locals will host the riders, while vying for the title of The Pinkest Little Town in the West. Jane Hurl, a breast cancer survivor who lives in the Lamont area, organizes the event in support of breast cancer.
“I just heard that I am going to be a grandma, and if it is a girl, I don’t want her to ever have to look down the barrel of that gun,” said Hurl. “I have had all sorts of things go wrong with me, but when I got that diagnosis, my world just stopped. It was very, very scary.”
Now in remission, Hurl was first diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2006. After enduring surgery and radiation, she decided she wanted to do something to help beat the disease.
“You never get an all clear, that is the cloud that every breast cancer survivor lives with,” she said. “Because there is no cure.”
Last year, Wild Pink Yonder raised $55,650 for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. Hurl’s desire is to double that number this year, and is looking for more riders to help meet her goal.
“I am not going to be happy until I have 30 riders a day,” said Hurl. “You can ride your horse, you can drive your cart, or you can drive your wagon. You just have to have a horse.”
Riders are expected to come up with a minimum of $200 each day they ride. They are encouraged to get pledges to meet that amount.
Although participants receive breakfast, lunch, dinner, hay for their horses, transportation to move their rigs forward and entertainment, all of the money they raise goes to breast cancer research. Towns along the route contribute to the ride by providing food, lodging and some entertainment, ensuring the ride donates as much money to the charity as possible.
“We challenge every town to a contest called The Pinkest Little Town in the West,” said Hurl. “In order to win, the town has to raise the most amount of money per capita and they have to make their town somehow the pinkest.”
Last year, Rimbey, which has a population of around 2,400, dressed up the town in pink and raised $11,000, winning the coveted title.
“They just went berserk,” said Hurl. “It was just fun…and you just giggled your way through town. It was the neatest stop, the whole town got into it.”
This year, the winner will receive a free concert and road signs proclaiming them the pinkest town in 2010.
Hurl said she is looking forward to this year’s event, as she was sidelined last summer when she was severely injured in an accident while conditioning her team of Norwegian Fjord horses for the ride.
“I was thrown from the wagon and broke five bones in my back, three breaks in my right hip and one in my left femur,” said Hurl. “But that just postponed the start date a little. No way were we going to kill the ride.”
The ride leaves from Waterton Lakes Resort after the kick off event, called the Wild Pink Fandago, which will feature dinner, music, dancing and a guest appearance by Amber Marshall of CBC’s Heartland.
“It is inspiring and heartwarming and it is sad because someone will tell you they have just lost their mom or grandma,” said Hurl.
For more information on the ride, to register or to sponsor a rider, visit wildpinkyonder.com or call Hurl at 1-780-363-0003.
