The 18th Annual Sundown Gymkhana attracted sponsors and riders for some fun events during the last weekend of August.
Carla Campbell says they chose a different charity each year that receives proceeds from the event.
This year, they picked Shady Pines Ranch, located just outside of La Broquerie.
“They do a lot of equine therapy work,” Campbell says. “And because we’re a gymkhana group, we decided to put our focus there. So, this year, we’re actually able to donate $5,000 to them. And we’re really excited about that.”
That amount is double the amount that was raised last year. While Campbell says this support is amazing, she is not surprised.
“You think Sundown is quite a ways off, especially from Steinbach, but it’s only about half an hour out, maybe about 35 minutes. There are a lot of Steinbach businesses that help support the event,” she says. “It’s amazing to see all this come in, so that we can actually put on a successful event and have so much over and above to be able to give to another organization that’s helping people.”
Free camping was offered during the event with live entertainment, a silent auction, a 50/50 raffle along with other activities that entertained people of all ages.
Campbell notes the Sundown Gymkhana is well known and attracts riders from all over.
“It’s one of the best gymkhanas you can find in the Southeast. It used to be where every festival and fair used to have a gymkhana. The last number of years, that’s kind of petered out for a lot of communities. But this is still one that is going strong, and people mark it on their calendars and come out every year.”