Alana Smith on horseback with trail instructor Erin Livingston. Courtesy photo.

UKIAH, Calif. – “Trailapalooza,” which had been rescheduled this spring due to concerns about a state outbreak of a deadly equine disease, is back on track for later this month.

The event will take place on Saturday, July 30, at the J Arena in Ukiah, 4800 Burke Hill Road.

It will be a day of fun for the whole family, with a barrel race at 2 p.m., roping at 5 p.m., games and pony rides for the children, snack and beverage concessions, a silent auction, delicious barbecued chicken or ribs dinners, and wonderful bluegrass music from the Redwood Highway Band.

Tickets are just $20 for adults, $15 for riders, and $7 for children 12 and under.

Tickets may be purchased at Willits Furniture, Ukiah Trophy and Rainbow Ag. Tickets purchased for the original Trailapalooza in May will be honored.

Several members of Willits Rotary Club had worked for several weeks with the South Ukiah Rotary Club to bring Trailapalooza to the community. The event originally was scheduled for Saturday, May 21.

The gymkhana had been rehearsed, the food and beverages had been ordered, silent auction items were all lined up, and tickets had been sold. Regrettably, three days before the event it was determined it had to be postponed rather than risk subjecting the horses to the equine herpes virus.

Assurances have been received that the incubation period for the equine herpes virus outbreak has long-since passed. And, of course, humans were never at risk. For additional information about containment of the EHV-1 outbreak, visit the California Department of Food and Agriculture Web site, http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/animal_health/equine_herpes_virus.html.

Ever the optimist, Willits Rotarian and Chairman Mike Smith chose to look on the bright side – this would give him more time to sell both admission and raffle tickets and he rescheduled the event for July 30.

The same optimism was recently expressed by Erin Livingston, co-founder of the T.R.A.I.L. Riders Association horseback riding therapy program and beneficiary of proceeds from Trailapalooza.

Livingston indicated that even though the event had to be postponed, she was delighted to report that having heard about their program or read about it in recent articles, four new students joined their program and a physical therapist and psychotherapist had contacted them to assist in the programming.

“These things alone have helped us reach more children, as well as, be able to provide more services in the future,” she said.