Roping and Racing for Recovery event successful

COLFAX- Friends, family, and lovers of team roping and barrel racing came together Saturday and Sunday, August 29 and 30, for the Roping and Racing for Recovery Todd Jensen Benefit.

The event was in support of Todd Jensen, of Colfax. He was recently diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and the event was put on as a fundraiser to help him and his family raise money for his medical bills.

Jensen is a staple of racing in the local area, and has been a foundation for many youth learning the ways of barrel racing and team roping.

Jensen has started some of the most talented and winning horse in the northwest, and is loved by all local racers.

Saturday kicked off the event, where teams of two came together in the roping competition.

In this competition, the first team member had to successfully lasso the horns of a cow, their teammate would then attempt to lasso one of the hind legs in the quickest time possible for the top prize.

The first roping session of the day saw 150 teams compete in the first division. These were a mix of people, where many were competing multiple times in the session with multiple different partners. The second set had 340 teams compete in their division at the event.

Paul Mathis and Charly Hennigar were the producers for the roping event, which had around 1,200 runs take place.

Participants came from all over the Northwest area, with some traveling all the way from Idaho, even a family from Sequim, Wash.

The cows used for the team roping event were donated by various people for use on the day.

The barrel racing on Sunday was produced by Danna Darby Eoff, which had close to 300 runs.

"It was a huge success. I was told it was one of the biggest barrel races that have been put on in the area," Eoff said.

Six buckles were given away for top placers in various barrel racing divisions, as well as a fun added men's race. Two saddles and six buckles were given away for team roping Saturday.

Saturday also had a live auction that took place during the tri-tip dinner. The dinner was catered by Kristy Boesel, where over 400 tickets were sold for the dinner and live auction.

Mary Jean Inman produced the live auction, where bidding wars took place for most items listed.

One of the highest selling items of the night was a breeding that was auctioned off for top dollar.

During the event, concessions and apparel were available for purchase. The concessions were organized by Sara Berntgen, who helped with the concessions and food, where the Colfax Rosauers market donated food. Pepsi also helped donate products.

The apparel at the event was donated by sponsors and other contributors.

"We pretty much sold all the apparel," Eoff said.

Eoff also said that her, Charly, Paul Mary Jean, and Sara all crammed the planning for the event in six weeks. They also ran an online auction that took place prior to the event, which was also a huge success.

"I'd like to give a huge appreciation to everyone that attended. All the volunteers that made it happen the day of really stepped up," Eoff said.