The San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo was soon becoming one of the top rodeos in the nation. One of its goals is to provide scholarships to area youth in the ranching and farming industry, but it also provides more economic impact to San Angelo and the surrounding communities than any other single event. As it became a strong contender with the larger rodeos, the event began to expand in many directions.
One direction was in the idea of a trail ride. Trail ride chairman, Lynn Donaho, grew up in south Texas and remembers as a boy, the trail ride coming through town. Years later while serving on the rodeo committee, he approached Chairman Mark Duncan with the idea. Lynn thought this would be a great way to help promote the stock show and rodeo to the surrounding areas and to benefit the scholarship fund.
After several attempts, he was finally given the chance to bring it to life. He assembled a group of volunteers and the work began. Originally there was to be two trail rides. The Devil’s River Ride was to depart from Sonora, but unfortunately the ride was cancelled the first year due to lack of participation. At that point all attention was focused on the Santa Fe Trail Ride. It kicked off its inaugural ride in Coleman, TX on February 16, 2004 with just a handful of volunteers and participants. That first year proved that hard work and dedication, an idea can become a reality.
We learned a lot from the first year which prepared us as we began planning the 2005 ride. We changed the route to begin in Abilene; we secured more sponsorship, and developed some lasting friendships. The first two rides helped establish the building blocks for the future.
In 2006, the ride brought mixed emotions by the loss of a very dedicated committee member, Howard Baker. The ride was dedicated in his honor and was extended by one day to include a tour of the new Frontier Texas museum in Abilene. As in previous years, our committee grew as well as our participants and that was a sign of great success.
The 2007 ride brought change once again. This year, we made our way to Ft. Chadbourne where everybody was given the chance to explore a piece of West Texas history. Some lucky participants had the chance to shoot a Shiloh Sharps model 1874 .45-70 riffle at a buffalo silhouette made out of metal. It’s the type of gun that the settlers would have used at the fort. A tour of the grounds along with a presentation on the restoration efforts was also part of the festivities. This year marked the worst weather to date forcing the ride to stay an extra day at Ft. Chadbourne before making their way to Miles. Some participants headed home or to other rides, but the faithful stayed until the end.
Over the previous 4 years we have become more of a family than a trail ride. From wonderful participants, who return year after year and bring along more friends, to wonderful sponsorships. WTU Retail Energy continues to be a major sponsor. Restaurants like Texas Roadhouse, Pepe’s Diner, Kenny Blanek Catering, Logan’s Roadhouse and Nacho’s continue to provide wonderful meals to the ride. Miles Preservation Authority, Miles Young Farmers, and Miles Volunteer Fire Department continue year after year to provide the highlight of the ride with a steak dinner and casino night. It gives everybody a great chance to relax.
