Volunteers mount up for the second annual fundraiser for Habitat
for Humanity
The San Benito County chapter of Habitat For Humanity will be
back in the saddle again this year as they attempt to raise money
for the local charity that helps to build homes for the poor.
Volunteers mount up for the second annual fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity
The San Benito County chapter of Habitat For Humanity will be back in the saddle again this year as they attempt to raise money for the local charity that helps to build homes for the poor.
The event, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21, features a seven-mile trail ride over land that hasn’t changed since the Spanish missionaries first arrived in the area roughly 200 years ago. The land encompasses ranches owned by Brian Holthouse and Dave Brigantino, and parts of the San Juan Oaks Country Club, but it was all once part of the Flint Bixby land grant.
There are trees that have been growing on the properties for 100 years. This will be an opportunity to step back into history and see the same things that the settlers saw at the time when Mission San Juan Bautista was constructed.
Both spreads are working ranches, allowing riders meander through herds of cattle said Cynthia Holthouse, whose family owns the Holthouse ranch.
Last year’s event was a success, organizers said, with more than 85 riders and the dinner dance and auction after the ride had more than 300 people in attendance. For anyone who doesn’t own a horse but still wants to attend the dinner dance and auction afterward, that is an option many people choose.
“For the first year we netted $40,000 and that’s pretty good,” said George Lewis, president of the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
The full-day ride will include lunch catered by Running Rooster in Hollister. There will also be massages available from a Hollister massage therapy studio. The massages will be 15 to 20 minutes for a discounted fee.
There will be rest stops with water and a lemonade stand at one of the stops. Each rider will receive cookies, first aid kids, and sweat scrapers for the horses.
Holthouse and Brigantino, who will lead the ride, said it should be a mild ride, but that horses should be somewhat broken and able to go up hills.
“There will be scenic views and it should be very beautiful,” Holthouse said. “We’ll be riding at 900 to 1,200 feet … it’s kind of the cowboy way, to see the fog [in the morning] and hear the cattle. We’ll see a variety of wildlife including black-tail deer and wild turkeys.”
Scott Fuller, general manager of San Juan Oaks, has offered use of his showers for anyone who doesn’t want to have to go home and change before coming back for the dinner.
People come from as far north as San Francisco and as far south as Paso Robles to attend the charity event.
“The best part is that all the proceeds stay local,” Cynthia Holthouse said.
Tickets for the trail ride are $150 and that includes a morning snack, a catered lunch and entry to the dinner. Tickets for just the dinner are $60. Tickets are available by calling 635-9904.
