Riding for a cause

Discussion

October 16, 2012

Riding for a cause

Bryant Thigpen Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Tue Oct 16, 2012, 11:48 AM EDT

Live Oak — Clinton Yates, 20, Live Oak, will be saddling up and riding for the North Florida Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure horseback ride. The ride will begin in O’Brien on Friday, Oct. 19, and will end in St. Cloud on Sunday, Oct. 28.

Yates was born in Kissimmee and raised in Osceola. His father and his grandfather were both cowboys, and so the outdoor life became his passion. At an early age, Yates started riding horses and as he got older started participating in local rodeos.

“I just love it,” Yates told the Democrat.  Prior to this race, the longest ride Yates has ever taken is 25 miles. This will be his first time traveling over 100 miles on a horse.

Yates moved with his family to Bluejacket, Oklahoma in 2004. While in Oklahoma, he graduated from Bluejacket High School in 2010 and continued to participate in rodeos.

The family moved back to Florida in 2010, but Yates took a trip back to the mid-western state in July to compete in a rodeo. This was his most recent event leading up to the horse ride for breast cancer awareness.

Next summer, Yates will be loading up and going to Wyoming for three months to compete in rodeos.

Although the race is to help raise funds to raise awareness about cancer, for Yates, it will be a tribute ride in memory of Ruth Crews.  “Ms. Crews was one of my mom’s friends, and the rodeo always did breast cancer awareness month, but this year I decided I wanted to do something outside of that,” he said.

The rider will be arriving in St. Cloud on Oct. 28 and friends and family are encouraged to gather at St. Cloud Lakefront Park, 1402 Lakeshore Blvd., at his approximate arrival time of 1 p.m. to celebrate the journey with food, DJ, live entertainment and crafts.

All of the proceeds raised during this event will be evenly distributed between the Susan G. Komen foundation and the Florida Cancer Society. Anyone wishing to contribute to this cause may visit www.passionatepink.org and enter the team’s ID number: 13565620. The team captain is Clinton Yates. Individuals have the option of sponsoring the team as a whole or by donating a certain amount per mile ridden.

Text Only

Home

Search Results

Discussion

Riding for a cause

School’s out soon. What are your summer plans for the kids

Site Map

Contact Us