Annual Barrel Race To Benefit Local Breast Cancer Fighter

By WESLIE STRATTON

Moapa Valley Progress

To celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Moapa Valley Riders club will host the annual Tough Enough To Wear Pink Barrel Racing Jackpot on Saturday, October 13. A team roping event has been added this year, and will take place prior to the event on Friday, October 12.

The annual event has previously raised several thousand dollars to benefit local women battling breast cancer and was started by a survivor.
“In 2013, unfortunately, I was diagnosed with stage two invasive breast cancer,” said event founder and local resident Tracey Thornton. “When breast cancer month came around in October I had already been through six months of chemo and was on a hiatus.”
That was when the idea for the event got started.

Proceeds totaling $3,000 from the 2013 event were divided and donated to a local survivor and the Mesquite Cancer Society.
“In 2014, it ran again and we donated $4,200 to Jessica Leavitt,” Thornton said. “In 2015, we donated $4,000 to Linda Melick.”

The 2016 proceeds totaling $24,000 were donated to Robbie Lindsay who was fighting stage 4 breast cancer and continues to fight to this day, Thornton said.
“All in all, since we’ve started this, we’ve donated a little over $37,000 to local breast cancer survivors,” explained Thornton

The event skipped a year in 2017, but Thornton said that they’re back bigger and better this year and ready to raise money for Kristin Conk.

According to Thornton, Moapa Valley Riders is a 100-percent not-for-profit organization. She said that while many barrel racers enter the race in hopes of winning money, a portion of every barrel racing entry goes to the chosen recipient. Thornton’s daughter, Ashley Thornton, has been working on a raffle for the event all year long.

“One hundred percent of proceeds from the raffle goes to the donation,” she said, adding that this year’s raffle includes a rifle, camping equipment, gift cards, and more.

“There will also be a cook shack with meat donated by volunteers who pit-roast and serve it with proceeds going to the recipient,” she said. “We have nieces and nephews and grandkids helping out who are big on paying it forward.”

Ashley’s 12-year-old niece started a lemonade stand at the event and has previously donated over $1000. “It’s great to involve all the kids and teach them to pay it forward,” she said.
New to the event this year is a Friday night roping that will also benefit this year’s recipient. “The Bowen family is helping out with the roping,” Thornton said.

Both events will take place at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Logandale. Team roping sign-ups will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday prior to the start of the event at 6 p.m.

Saturday’s festivities will begin with a mutton bustin’ event from 8-9 a.m. followed by time-only barrels from 9:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. A breast cancer ribbon photo will be taken in the arena at 11:15 a.m. and anyone wearing pink is invited to participate. The barrel race will begin after the photo at 12 p.m.

The event is free for spectators and open to the public.