Sleigh and Cutter Festival 2017

By Ley Bouchard

The Red River Harness and Saddle Club and the Midwest Minnesota Harness Club hosted the 3rd Annual Sleigh & Cutter Festival Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017 near Pelican Rapids, Minn. The weather cooperated to make an enjoyable day for about 25 rigs and teams that came from across the region.

More than 50 spectators joined in the fun to celebrate winter and observe a rare showing of vintage and homemade sleighs, bobcats, sleds, otters, and cutters along with many different breeds of horses.

Teamsters, mostly from Minnesota and North Dakota, brought horses, mules, ponies and mini horses to pull and display an array of equipment. Participant registrations rose over the previous years‘, in part, because it is the third annual event, people are learning about it and coming back each year to enjoy driving their horses in the snow, showing off their snow sleds and delight in not fighting bugs and heat.

Teamsters arrived by 10 a.m. to complete the registration process, harness their horses, and ready their sleighs or equipment for the Grand Entry Parade which took place at 12:30 p.m. Teamsters participating in the day were Cathy Villella, Josh Hanson, Danny Babolian, Sue Lockling, Becca Babolian, Polly Thorsness and Christian Moen in the novice classes; driving mules teams were Ken Pawluk, Polly Thorsness, Mark and Karen Radtke. Horse teams included Denise and Brian Laymon, Mike Hanson, owner of Due North Haflingers of Cook, Minn., Elroy, Christy and Lindsey Bjorgen, Jeff Claypool, Bobbie Kleffman, Linda Vukich, Lynnea and Lynn Ferrie, owner of SlipKnot Farm in Bagley, Minn., Dennis Sobtzak brought a magnificent matching pair of Percherons, Sue Lockling brought Shetlands, Patches in training, and Grimm, her steady and true blue roan which accompanied her in her van the first year she attended this event as her truck was out of service!

The sunny day progressed without a hitch or injury. The wind picked up briefly but for the most part it was a day in the mid-20 degrees and mild compared to the event in 2016!

Dick Schauer owner of Working Horse in Park Rapids, Minn. and Doc Isaacson judged the event for the third year running. The announcer this year was Sal Formo; many commented on the excellent sound system which facilitated excellent communication throughout the large area.

Polly Thorsness said in a Facebook comment: “THANK YOU to everyone who made the sleigh event possible, it was a great turnout of units and spectators! I thought this year’s announcing was excellent, it was easy to hear all over the grounds, so we always knew what was happening as we were switching animals and/or equipment! And it was easy to hear the judge’s commands when we were in the ring. THANK YOU!”

Michelle Jimenez posted photos to Facebook and commented, “The 2017 Sleigh and Cutter festival is in the books. It was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying the fun and festivities! Thank you to everyone who made this annual event a HUGE success.”

The committee and clubs wish to express their appreciation to the sponsors of this event: Park Region, JS Stables, The Inn at Dunvilla, Heart o Lakes Meats, and Bimbo Bakery in Pelican Rapids and Farmers Feed Mill in Barnesville.

Sleigh and Cutter Festival - March 7, 2015

By Ley Bouchard
The Lord answered our prayers and blessed us with a gorgeous day for the Sleigh & Cutter Festival near Dunvilla in Pelican Rapids, Mn. March 7th.

The first cutter festival in the Red River Valley for many years was heartily welcomed and well-attended. At least the organizers, Christy Curfman and me, were pleased with the turnout as there were only a couple of people who registered in advance; units arrived from, Grand Rapids, Bemidji, southern Minnesota, North Dakota and of course, a good representation from our club.

Many local mule and horse drivers took advantage of the last of the driving snow for the season. Early warm temperatures occurring the next and subsequent days removed any evidence of sleigh and cutter tracks.
Hoping it would become an annual event to attract people to the location which will next year be a hotel site, Linda Grefsrud donated use of the grounds near the Barn in Dunvilla.

Larry Villella built the fish house and it is owned and was donated for our use by Hillibillies in Erhardt, Minn. This fish house was made to be used by veterans for ice fishing. Vickie Abentroth, concession chair, scrubbed down the fish house and donated many items to provide hot and nourishing food and snacks for the concession stand as we had no idea when planning, what kind of weather to expect. She was assisted by David Steedsman, Denise Anderson and Judy Everett. A menu of hot pulled turkey, sloppy joes, chips, bars, hot chocolate, coffee, soda and water were available for purchase at a nominal fee.

Registration was very well organized by the team of Linda Oelke and Kathy Villella. Harv Hegvick was hired as announcer and he brought a pickup with all the sound equipment required. Judges were Dick Schauer of Working Horse in Park Rapids, Minn. and his friend Doc Isaccson.

Jess Nelson, official photographer, snapped shots of all the rigs and harnessed horses showing their regalia. Her photographs may be seen on the Valley Equestrian News Facebook page, in the April issue of the VEN, on the RRHSC Facebook page and web site.

Mark Radtke beautifully sang the national anthem and the festivities officially began around noon with the parade. Judging of the 16 classes began at about 1 p.m.

Winners are listed by class below with many photos of the day. High resolution photos are available from Ley Bouchard at leybou@gmail.com or by calling 701.361.8648.

Christy and I are very grateful for the turnout of our club members who brought horses and multiple vehicles along with tons of smiles and enthusiasm. Thank you also to the volunteers for their time and efforts. Thank you also for the clubs' (our club and the Midwest MN Harness Club) support.

Thank you for the donations from Farmers Feed Mill, Heart O’ Lakes Meat, Cornfield Café, Park Region, Wells Fargo, and Lakeland True Value.

Sheyenne Oaks Drive/Ride 2012

The RRH&SC held their third annual camping, riding and driving weekend at Sheyenne Oaks Horse Camp near Leonard ND, May 18th – 20th. Friday’s activities included a drive/ride to mirror pool, followed by supper of a taco bar donated and served by club members, Barry Anderson and Judy Everett. Saturday morning, breakfast of oatmeal was donated and served by member Ken Pawluk, and the drive began around 10:00 with four carts and several outriders traveling about six miles on roads and through the woods, before lunch was enjoyed in a grove of trees where everyone rested for a while. Another five miles through the woods landed us back at camp around 3:00. A club supper of grilled steak, potatoes, beans, served by Barry Anderson, Judy Everett, and Polly Thorsness, and donated chocolate cake by Denise & Gary Anderson, along with great company was enjoyed by all.  After supper, several members went for a ride, while others hiked and checked out some of the scenery like the new log cabins being built in the camp. Sunday morning, breakfast was eggs, bacon, ham, orange juice and toast served by Mark & Karen Radtke and Bob & Lynette Feakes.  After breakfast and some socializing, everyone loaded up animals and supplies and headed home. The weather was great for the weekend, no rain, very few bugs, some sunshine and some warm and cool breezes depending on the day. It was another successful harness and saddle club event.

Sheyenne Oaks Ride/Drive 2011

The RRH&SC club held a drive at Sheyenne Oaks Horse Camp, southwest of Kindred ND. Most of the attendees arrived sometime Friday evening. It drizzled for a while in the late afternoon, and then turned out to be a very nice evening. We went for a drive Friday evening along the county road. Supper for some was hamburgers and brats cooked over the fire. The weather held up until late into the night when it rained.

Saturday morning was dreary through breakfast of egg bake made by Karen, Judy & Lynette, and the drizzle stopped when we started tacking up for the drive. We drove on a trail into the sand hills toward Mirror Pool, but about a mile in, the mighty Sheyenne River had caused a huge washout that prevented us from traveling any further. So, we headed back and went up the county road to the buffalo farm where we took a short break before turning around. The morning drive was approximately 9 miles, getting us back to camp around 1:30. Three of Ron & Jodi Hansen’s daughters - Meg, Nell, and Ivy - joined us for the drive.

We had lunch and rested until about 4:00 when some of us went on another drive to the trail head and drove in the pasture as far as we could go. That drive was almost 5 miles. After arriving back at camp, we ate a hearty meal supplied by the club, with steaks grilled by Omar and Judy, beans and potatoes cooked over the campfire by Polly, and desserts brought by members. No one went hungry, that’s for sure. The sun was shining all through supper and the weather was beautiful pretty much the whole day.

After supper, Camille and Amber decided to take Misty and Prince for a ride. They were gone quite a while having a great time. Amber sure loved that Percheron! About 9:30, the storm came in and we all turned in for the night. It rained most of the night, and then Sunday morning, after a hearty breakfast of eggs, hash browns, steak strips and Texas toast donated by club members; we all loaded up and left for home. It didn’t rain while we were loading up, but about five miles from the campground, the scattered rain showers began.

All in all, the weather held up beautifully for the activities we wanted to do that weekend, and it seemed to rain at the right times to not dampen our fun. And, we were the only group in the entire campground, which was very fun and relaxing.

Members present for all or part of the weekend were:

Barry (Omar) Anderson            Mark & Karen Radtke       
Judy & Camille Everett             Gene Radtke
Polly Thorsness                        Bob & Lynette Feakes
Amber Leverson                       Glenn Oelke
Anna Brown                             Ken Pawluk
Lori Steedsman

Guests: Danica Hansen, Casey Hansen, Nell Hansen, Meg Hansen, and Ivy Hansen joined the festivities from time to time, as they had other commitments during the afternoon and evening. Jodi and Ron Hansen brought some crackers from Fargo for the sardines that someone brought … ISH!


Radtke Sleigh Drive

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Mark and Karen Radtke hosted a sleigh ride at their home near Glyndon. With temperatures at a comfortable 15 to 20 degrees and very little wind, it was a perfect afternoon. There was plenty of snow, but Mark had been out and groomed the trails so all went smoothly…and we knew where to go! The hour long ride through the trees and fields on the Brantner property across the road was just about perfect.

Dan Feakes led the way as drive boss on Karen’s horse, Casey. Ken Pawluk and Gene Johnson followed with their team and cutter. Next was Gene Radtke driving his team and bob sled carrying passengers Karen Radtke and great-grandson, Ben.

We had some newer “outfits” with Gary Anderson driving Polly Thorsness’ mule, Kit, pulling his cutter sleigh and Mark Radtke helping Bob Feakes with his maiden voyage pulling a newly remodeled bob sled with his team.

Barry Anderson had his big team out and provided the most comfortable passenger space with his roomy bob sled.

There was a bit of jockeying (and joking) back and forth between the rigs with these additional passengers:  Lori Steedsman, Judy Everett, Denise Anderson, Anna Brown, Polly Thorsness and Lynette Feakes.

Amber Leverson did a great job as drag rider on her horse, Penny.

Following the ride, we all enjoyed warming up, telling stories, and sharing a delicious potluck meal before our monthly meeting.