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Hillside Stables Trail Ride marks 58th year, and without any rain
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By Craig Moorhead
Special for the Argus
“We’ve never gotten rained out,” Elsie Helke says. That’s saying something. This year marks the 58th annual Hillside Stables Trail Ride. Elsie explains that she’s hosted the event from the start in 1951. That’s the year she and her first husband Carl Helke bought the farm outside of Brownsville.
“And it’s going to be a nice day,” she declares, referring to Sunday, October 18. That’s the traditional date for the trail ride, always the third Sunday in October. Elsie says that she once rented horses at the farm.
“Back in about 1960, I started renting horses. I had 20 saddle horses. They would come out here, and at that time it was a dollar an hour (to ride).” She chuckled, “When I quit I think it was up to five dollars an hour.”
Elsie hasn’t retired. “I was married to Carl Helke and he died 15 years ago,” she explained. “Jerry (Lennartz) and I’ve been married for five years...He (Jerry) does a lot of the farming and works in town.
“I’ve got enough here with my horses and cows. I’ve got 11 horses and 18 heifers, along with some calves and steers. I get up and feed my horses, go take care of the cows. We make hay. We made 800 square bales and I hauled ‘em all down, raked hay and hauled ‘em down.
“How old do you think I am,” she asked with a grin, then laughed and said, “I turned 82 last February.”
A chilly drizzle was falling as Elsie headed down to the pasture. Two horses trotted over as she approached. One of them is a Pinto gelding named Cappie. Elsie gave some grain to him, as well as to Jerry’s horse.
Referring to her age, she added. “They ask, do you ride a horse? I say I guess so (she laughed). Of course! What would I do if I didn’t?”
Elsie looked at Cappie, gently scolding him for getting into some burdocks. Cappie also looks younger than his years. “My little horse that I ride is 35 years old. I’m going to be riding him (Sunday).” Elsie chuckled again, “A lot of people don’t believe he’s 35, but I’ve got the papers to prove it.”
Elsie and Jerry belong to the Coulee Region Riders Club and the Triple R Saddle Club, but the Hillside Stable ride is not affiliated with either one of those organizations. It’s just something she and Jerry continue to host.
Is the trail ride open to anyone who wants to come?
“Yeah, we don’t advertise it. It’s just a word of mouth event. A lot of them have been coming for as long as they’ve lived.”
Is it free?
“We don’t charge anything. We have a good ride. Usually about three hours. We start about one o’clock and we get back by four, since it gets dark earlier this time of year. That way we have time to eat and everyone has time to load their horses and get started for home.
“They come from all over. I have a bunch that come down from Cannon Falls. Last year we had 83 riders. It’s usually around 80 horses, something like that.” (One year 178 riders showed up.) “We have more visitors than horses. Everybody comes. We get back from our ride about four o’clock and all the neighbors come in. We all have a big potluck supper. It’s a big gathering.”
How many folks show up?
“Two or three hundred. All the neighbors come in and a lot of people who don’t ride just come on in. Come here to visit. It’s really nice.
“A lot of them (riders) come Saturday and camp overnight. We have a good time.
“I don’t know how many more years I’m going to do it, but I’ll just keep at it I guess. It’s been something that’s been a tradition. It’s been every year.”
The rain continued last Thursday as this interview concluded. The forecast for Sunday, however, is sunny and pleasant. Just as if Elsie had ordered it that way.
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