Wild Pink Yonder stops in Olds

To view more photos from the event click here.

Wild Pink Yonder riders left Olds last week with $1,000 for breast cancer research, after arriving in town on a rainy Tuesday.

The money is going to the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta (CRINA) at the University of Alberta.

When the trail ride is over on Sept. 4, it's anticipated that as many as 70 people will have participated on horseback at some point in the journey. Each one would have committed to raising $100 per day that they spent on the ride.

Taber's Sue Meier is one of two riders going the distance with trail boss Jane Hurl. In her first trip with Wild Pink Yonder, she has raised about $5,000 by writing letters seeking sponsorship, soliciting donations from family, holding pony rides and bake sales.

Meier said her employer also gave her the time to participate in the ride, calling it a "three-week vacation on my horse."

The stop marked roughly the halfway point of the charity trail ride, which started on Aug. 12 in Stirling, a town south of Lethbridge.

It was the second time Wild Pink Yonder has come. Hurl said it's not often they'll visit a community twice but were impressed by the reception they received back in 2009.

They spent the night in town, stabling horses at the Olds Regional Exhibition grounds.

"They are happy little horses. Yesterday they got rained on and they got sleeted on and hailed on. The wind was 80 kilometres an hour. Everything and everybody was soaked. The horses are inside the MegaDome and they're dry, warm and happy," Hurl said.

Rain forced festivities into the Cow Palace. Those festivities included a barbecue and pink-themed fashion competition, won by Ethan, Liam and Taya Hartt.

Wild Pink Yonder also comes with the Pinkest Little Town in the West competition. Stirling and Carmangay are reportedly the front-runners.

"In Carmangay, they put a pink ribbon around every tree in town. Every. Tree. That's crazy," Hurl said. "And then all the houses were decorated and all the businesses were decorated. When they had their dinner, we had more than half of the population of the town out partying with us."

Breast cancer research was a cause personal to many. Hurl was diagnosed with it, as was Meier's mother-in-law, who passed away at 47 years old. Over at ORE, executive director Tami Gardner fought the disease and has been cancer-free for 13 years. Her mother was diagnosed years ago as well.

Speaking about her fight, Gardner said her biggest concern at the time was being able to remain an active mother with her two teenaged sons who played hockey and were involved with 4-H.

"I did not ever think that I was facing death because I just didn't believe that was in store for me. I had too much left to do," she said.

In her remarks at the Cow Palace, Hurl was certain that one day, a cure will be found.

"If I have to live until I'm 150, it's going to happen," she said.

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