Published: Friday, Jun. 19, 2009

Updated: Friday, Jun. 19, 2009

Riders to benefit St. Jude’s, remember Jones

MYAKKA CITY — This year, it will be a memorial.

The 18th annual St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital Horseback Benefit will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Myakka City, but for the first time, Doug Jones won’t be there.

Jones, a Myakka City resident who owned Wishful Thinking Farms, passed away March 3. He had led the ride for 16 years. Last year, Jones was too ill to lead the ride.

“The first year of the ride, we lost a grandchild the year before and St. Jude’s was just starting to establish a horseback ride-a-thon,” said Jones’ wife, Marie. “St. Jude’s called us, and it’s pretty compelling after you lose a grandchild, you just never get over it. We felt very passionate and we both ended up in tears over it. So it was, ‘Yep. We’ve got to do this.’”

Because it’s a memorial, the horseback benefit will once again feature a barbecue at 1:30 p.m., which will include pork, chicken and other pot luck goodies from several farms. Typically, the horseback benefit draws between 25 and 45 riders.

Last year, the barbecue did not take place because of the summer heat.

“We figured we’ve got to do it the old way,” said Marie Jones, “because we’re honoring Doug.”

Myakka City resident Karen Perry will lead the benefit, as she did last year. Doug Jones’ daughter, April Jones, would be leading the ride, but cannot since she is attending the Meridian School of Cosmetology in Lakewood Ranch.

Perry, 19, has participated in the ride for five years.

“Last year, Doug asked me to do it,” Perry said. “And I always did everything he asked me to do. Because to me he was like a second father.”

Riders are welcome to camp the night before the ride.

The ride is expected to run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. That’s when the lunch, live music, auction and awarding of door prizes will begin. Lunch is available to non-riders for a $10 donation.

Riders are requested to donate at least $25 to the research hospital with all checks made to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. There is a $35 minimum donation for a T-shirt, and riders raising at least $150 get a cap, shirt, and a cantle saddle bag.

The ride is at 39451 Taylor Road in Myakka City.