Copper State Trail Riders
Fund Raiser Ride
for the Arizona Trail
O
n March 14th to 16th we held our 2nd Annual
Fund Raiser Ride at historic Bumble Bee Ranch.
All our meals were catered by the ranch, which
does a great spread of incredible food, so all we had
to do was ride and have fun. There were 39 riders that
showed up to the event, making for lots of new friends
to meet.
Friday afternoon we took a short loop ride out to an
old homestead. It sits on a hill that offers a great view
back over the ranch. The history of this homestead
is a mystery leaving you to imagine who lived here
and sat on the porch watching the evening sun slip
down behind the Bradshaw’s. A cool breeze came up
bringing with it just enough sprinkles to get us headed
back to the ranch. It was very short lived and followed
by a beautiful evening. Cowboy games were enjoyed
with 8 second
rides on the
bucking barrel and
quick draw shoot
outs. The aroma
of good food soon
had everyone
gathering under
the Ramada
for dinner.
During dinner
was a great
opportunity to get
to know everyone.
Kelly gave us a
brief history of
the ranch and the
town of Bumble
Bee. Then I
explained what the fund raiser was for and who we
were. Copper State Trail Riders camp and ride on
the Arizona Trail once a month to enjoy and bring
equestrian awareness to the trail. This fund raiser along
with other things we do through out the year is to help
with access and trail heads that will accommodate our
horse trailers.
Because the event brought out so many great riders
we divided into three groups. I took out one followed
by Suzi Shawl 45 minutes later and Kelly took out the
riders looking for a shorter ride.
AZintheSaddle.com
Our Saturday ride was a
12 mile loop on the Black
Canyon Trail. We rode south
on the BCT on a single track
set against the hillside for six
miles. Giving us wonderful
views of the Bradshaw
Mountains and glimpse of the
Black Canyon River flowing
below us. The trail crosses the
road at a trail head and we
continued south from there.
Where the gas pipeline comes
close to the trail and the
vegetation is cleared we used it to leave the trail and
drop down to Maggie Mine Rd. From there it is an easy
access on jeep trails to drop down to the river.
At the first river crossing I discovered the horse I was
riding for the day didn’t cross water! This is where
I want to thank everyone for their patience while
she learned to cross the river; by the end of the ride
that mare was crossing water! The second half of our
ride was spent splashing in and out of the river as
we traveled upstream. Along the way we stopped for
lunch and paused
for everyone to
see one of the
largest and better
preserved stone
miner houses
from the 1800’s.
Saturday evening
we gathered under
the Ramada for
another great
meal, music and
raffle. Jan Marrou,
The Cowboy’s
Sweetheart, took
the stage after dinner entertaining us with country
favorites in her beautiful voice.
Lots of the local merchants and the Arizona Trail
donated generously to the raffle and all the items
were set around the tables. There were lots goodies
to choose from and it was fun calling out the
winning numbers.
Sunday morning
after breakfast we
were back in the
saddle. This time we
rode up the Black
Canyon River to visit
Miner Bob’s claim.
He showed us how
to pan for gold and
what the gold looked
like when it came out
of the river. None of
us got rich but we
sure had fun trying!
Sunday afternoon was time for goodbyes until we meet
again on the Arizona Trail. Thank you to all who came
and made it such a fun filled and successful weekend.
Because of you we raised $1560.00 for the Arizona
Trail. This money will be used for trailheads that can
accommodate our horse trailers.
Here is the list of everyone who
donated to the raffle:
• Double D Western World
• Bargain Barn and Tack
• Dale’s Town and Country
• Scottsdale Livestock
• Stockman Feed
• Black Mountain Feed & Tack
• C & H Hay Barn
• Jorgenson Leather Works
• Mike’s Cowboy Country
• Karsten’s Ace Hardware
• Lakin Milling
• Dynamite Horseman Supply
• Rod & Sheila O’Neal
Thanks to all who contributed to this event
and helped make it so very successful.
If you would like to join us on our adventures on the
Arizona Trail you can find us on Face Book, just click on
join. Or you can email to get our ride schedule for this
year. [email protected]
May 2014
33