Horsepower Collides ... and everyone wins
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Horses and dirt bikes cometed against one another, fighting hard to deside which type of horsepower is best around the barrels.
Photos by MANDI BATEMAN Ryan Breece, left, and Whitney LaValley were among the competitors in the third annual Horsepower Collides event, Sunday at the Boundary County Fairgrounds.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Whitney LaValley
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Whitney LaValley
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Travis Schierman on his 450 Honda.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Tamara Barnhart on Dash.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Jimmy LaMastus
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN There were kids of all ages that participated.
Whitney LaValley carrying the American flag.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Not all of the horses were happy about racing with the loud dirtbikes.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN
Trevor Mort accelerates during an event.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Amanda Haworth
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Trevor Mort
(Courtesy Photo) Tamara Barnhart won first place, Ryan Breece won second place, and Jumy Lamastus won third place.
BONNERS FERRY — A crowd gathered at the Boundary County Fairgrounds once again for the third annual Horsepower Collides event.
In the event, dirt bikes raced against horses in a competition to determine which class was better at running around barrels.
“I think the horses will win tonight,” said an attendee of the event, Shane Coblentz. “They have a pretty good shot at it. The first half, the bikes were winning, so I think the horses have a shot at it.”
As the event unfolded, the competitors were neck and handlebars in the races.
“I think it’s really cool. It’s not often you mix these lifestyles together,” said dirt bike contestant Chance Blackburn. “This is my first time here. I normally compete in Supercross and Pro Motocross.”
Alyssa O’Dell of Rathdrum rode her horse Clyde to finish 14.31 in the first round and 14.4 in the second round, landing her in sixth place overall.
“It is a lot of fun,” said O’Dell. “I have ran a 14.4 in Sandpoint, and was one of the top horses.”
A member of the team that put on the event continues to enjoy the area and looks forward to bringing Horsepower Collides back to Boundary County in the future years.
“We are very grateful to have the opportunity to host Horsepower Collides here in Bonners Ferry for three years now,” said member Alexia Jordan. “We always feel embraced by the community and the wonderful feedback from those who attend and sponsor.”
In the end, Tamara Barnhart rode her horse, Dash, to the first place win with a round one time of 14.175, and 13.98 in the second round, leading the horses to victory.
In second place was Ryan Breece on his dirt bike with a round one finishing time of 14.24 and second round finishing at 14.215.
Third place was Jimmy LaMastus on his 450 Yamaha with 14.187 in the first round and 14.29 in the second round.
Fourth place was Amanda Haworth with 14.3 and 14.31, followed by fifth place winner, Alyssa O’Dell at 14.31 and 14.4, both on horses.
Places six through nine were Trevor Mort who finished with 14.2 and 14.62, Chance Blackburn finished with 14.62 and 14.42, Travis Schierman with 15.08 and 14.45, and Jonah Kelly with 15.34 and 15.402, all on dirtbikes.
Places nine through 12 were Amanda Haworth with 14.05 and 18.719, Danette Rieter on Martini, finished with 14.209 and 19.699, and Whitney LaValley on Delta finished with 14.575 and 19.87.
With loud dirt bikes and flying dirt, not all horses wanted to fully cooperate in the sport they know and love, making this competition one of the harder ones for the horse and rider teams. The dirt bikes tended to have more ‘get up and go’, but the horses turned the barrels with more precision.
One contestant commented that the horseback riders didn’t have to worry so much about crashing, but some of the horses weren’t very happy about racing the loud dirtbikes.
The teams have another year to improve and hone their skills, and maybe the fourth annual Horsepower Collides in 2020 will provide different results.