Local non-profit holds family-friendly fundraiser

Tethered hot air balloon rides, raffles and wheelbarrow races are just a few of the activities planned for Pahrump's Freedom Reins Ranch Frontier Family Fun Day on Saturday.

Sheila Bockerham of Freedom Reins said her family started the operation to work with individuals with disabilities, or for anyone who wants to learn more about horses and horseback riding.

"We are certified with the Certified Horsemanship Association for standard instruction and riders with disabilities," she said. "This is our big fundraiser of the year, and we have to raise money to help things move along. My family are the ones who founded Freedom Reins Ranch."

The all-day event runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bockerham said attendees can expect something for everyone to enjoy.

"We are also going to have a hay maze that everyone can go through and all kinds of different activities for families to participate in," she said. "We will also have live music and food available for purchase."

One activity Bockerham said will draw much interest is the barn-raising event.

"It's an old-fashioned barn-raising competition, but we're not going to use wood because that would just take too long," she said. "We decided to have a family or group competition where people build a barn with cardboard boxes. The barn has to be large enough for our miniature donkey to fit in. He will be there to get in your barn in order to see if your barn qualifies."

Bockerham also said raffle tickets can be purchased for a special prize valued at $700.

"We are doing a raffle for a hot air balloon ride and champagne brunch for two," she said. "We have been selling tickets since the Harvest Festival and the Pony Express people will bring the winning ticket in when they arrive. We wanted to keep the raffle ticket costs at a minimum. They are $5 for one ticket and $20 for five."

Additionally, Bockerham said tethered hot air balloon rides are $5 for children or $10 for adults, weather permitting.

Admission to the event is $5 per person or $20 for a family of four or more.

"We are only doing at-the-gate admission because advanced ticketing would be too difficult to track," she said. "If you have 5 or 6 people in your family, that can get expensive at $5 per person. If you have more than 4 people in your family it's only $20 for your family to get in."

Freedom Reins Ranch opened its doors roughly a year ago.

Tomorrow's event will serve as a fundraiser to help offset operating costs, while keeping the fee for services at a reasonable rate.

"This is our big fundraiser of the year to help make sure the horses are taken care of and we can keep offering our services at the lowest cost possible," she said. "We just wanted to put on a fun event for the community and next year we are hoping to do it bigger and better."

Raffle tickets can still be purchased by contacting Bockerham or Julie Schmidt at (775) 513-3791 or (775) 513-3790.

The event will be held on the Double J Ranch grounds at 3750 Moapa St., off west Highway 372 and Z Street.

Signage will be posted to guide visitors to the site.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @sharrispvt.