Weekend event is for riders<\/b><\/p>\n
For years cancer activists have raised millions of dollars and national awareness through Relay for Life events.<\/p>\n
The 24-hour walking and running activity, usually conducted on local tracks, has drawn a massive outpouring of public interest \u2013 from grassroot organizations, youth groups and store employees, to cancer survivors themselves.<\/p>\n
Come Saturday in Kent, Relay for Life will take a whole new twist.<\/p>\n
There will be a track involved, sure enough.<\/p>\n
But expect to see hoof prints in its wake, not sneaker treads.<\/p>\n
Reber Ranch, the site of a former Longacres training track, will be turning over its facility to what organizers say is the first-ever Relay for Life involving horses.<\/p>\n
Equestrians from across the state will be making tracks for the ranch, to raise money for cancer research and treatment, as well as to enjoy the simple pleasure of riding a horse.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never been done anywhere before,\u201d said Spanaway resident Eva Johannsen, organizer of the equestrian-themed event, and a rider herself.<\/p>\n
As of Friday, she\u2019d sent out about 70 application forms to riders who contacted her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do know for sure we\u2019re going to have at least 20, and probably a lot more than that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The guidelines for raising money, she noted, are pretty laid back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can do it by the lap, the mile, the hour,\u201d Johannsen said. \u201cI\u2019m not horribly picky.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike Parson, store manager for Reber Ranch, said Friday it was an easy decision to open the ranch\u2019s training track up for such an event.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy view is, cancer\u2019s touched every one of us,\u201d he said, noting his own mom is a breast-cancer survivor and his stepfather died from leukemia.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd everyone here loves horses,\u201d he added of ranch staff. \u201cThis is roots for us. I\u2019m hoping we do it every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parson said in addition to the track, his company also is providing free stable space and fodder to the riders\u2019 mounts.<\/p>\n
Similar to firefighters\u2019 fundraising efforts for burn victims, Parson said Reber also will have a cowboy boot at the event, where people can place cash donations to the American Cancer Society. Tacoma Relay for Life and ACS are the overall recipients of the proceeds from the relay.<\/p>\n
The event gets under way 2 p.m. Saturday with the official opening lap. At 4 p.m., there will be a survivors\u2019 lap. And just like the other Relays for Life, there will be a luminaria segment of the event, where participants will light candles in honor of their loved ones who beat cancer, or to memorialize those who did not. That event, which will involve candles placed on the infield of the track, starts at dusk, Johannsen said, which is roughly 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
The concept for a horseback Relay for Life came to Johannsen in an almost offhanded way.<\/p>\n
She was actually joking around about trying to get out of being on an on-foot Relay for Life team, through her employer, Fred Meyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt started as a halfway serious, jokey kind of comment,\u201d said Johannsen, who works as a barista at the coffee counter of the University Place Fred Meyer.<\/p>\n
She was at a company luncheon, where someone was attempting to draft her for a relay team. She begged off, telling them, \u201cI don\u2019t like to walk, my knees hurt and I\u2019m lazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
But her coworkers knew she rode a horse, and that\u2019s when someone threw down the glove, suggesting she cover ground that way.<\/p>\n
And an idea was born.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just kind of started doing it,\u201d Johannsen said of organizing the event, noting she started putting out fliers at other Relays for Life this year, in addition to getting onto a local news show to talk about it.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t have to look far for inspiration, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cA friend of mine (co-worker Kathy Symmons) died of ovarian cancer and it was like a wakeup call,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
And while Johannsen is in the saddle as event organizer, she\u2019ll be saddling up in the real sense as well.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s planning to take her half Arab gelding Gabe to the event, where she\u2019ll be riding along with everyone else.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting back into it,\u201d she said of her quirky mount with the big personality, who has a fondness for letting himself out of the stable for self-guided strolls. \u201cIt\u2019s time he goes back to work \u2013 his retirement is over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Learn more<\/p>\n
Riders can still register for Saturday\u2019s Relay for Life at Reber Ranch.<\/p>\n
Contact organizer Eva Johannsen online at evaj.rideforthecure@hotmail.com.<\/p>\n
The event starts 2 p.m. Saturday and runs through 2 p.m. Sunday.<\/p>\n
There is a 4 p.m. survivors\u2019 lap, and luminaries will be lit on the infield at dusk Saturday.<\/p>\n
Reber Ranch is located at 28606 132nd Ave. S.E., Kent. Call 253-630-3330 for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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