Horses, Heat, and Heart: Ride the West Returns to The Dalles

Jul 14

Written By Columbia Community Connection

From Fort Dalles Riders Club:

Photos and story by Candy Armstrong

The Dalles, Ore., July 14, 2025 — This past weekend, Laurie Branch, her very capable teen helpers, and some awesome horses spent three very hot, grueling days and nights at Fort Dalles Riders Club in order to bring an amazing experience to nine brave young campers.

Some campers had horses of their own at home, others had never been on a horse, yet everyone worked as a team and endured some very hot temperatures to participate in this one-of-a-kind experience.

This was the second year that Laurie and Fort Dalles Riders Club have partnered to bring this unique experience to The Dalles. Some of the words from Ride the West website say it all: “It’s learning patience, its working with others and being good teammates, it’s learning to deal with disappointment, it’s learning to make and accomplish goals, it’s the opportunity to have life long friendships, its learning to be disciplined, its being so tired (and hot) you want to quit but you don’t its being in the arena instead of in front of a screen.”